Favors
by Squigglius
Summary: After an incident at Diagon Alley, Ginny sees a different side to Draco Malfoy. A few other romances come into play as well. Draco/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, etc. Please R&R. Ch. 15 up--Complete!
1. Two More Weeks

Disclaimer: I do not own J.K. Rowling's marvelous Harry Potter series, or any of its characters, places, and events, etc. All I own is the plot, and anything else that is unfamiliar or new. *A/N: This is my very first story, so be gentle. It starts out a little slow, but the next chapters will be better. Please, Read and Review! ~Nancy ~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~ 

Favors

Chapter One: Two More Weeks

…

"…743…744…745…"

::tap tap tap::

"Huh?… Ok, where was I? Oh yes,…746…747…"

::tap tap tappitty tap tap::

Draco was slightly annoyed at being disturbed from his very important business: In his boredom he had taken to counting the mosaic tiles that made up the ceiling of his enormous bedroom. He got up from his bed and opened one of his grand windows, allowing his eagle owl back inside from its nightly hunt.

"Now I've lost my spot,…1…2…3… forget it, that's enough" he said to himself and sat by the open window, letting in a light breeze. Looking out the window, he ignored the fantastic grounds of Malfoy Manor and instead his gray eyes rested upon the cloudy night sky. Looks like rain, he thought as his mind began to wander. In two weeks he would be in his sixth year at Hogwarts, yet for some reason he felt as if nothing would change. In fact, this year would probably be exactly the same as the last five boring years. He began hoping, however, that this year would be different. Just as the first drops had fallen outside, Draco was pulled out of his thoughts by the ever familiar voice of his father:

"Draco, come."

Draco shut the window and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Yes, father?" he called as he walked down the sweeping staircase toward his father's cold voice.

"Have a seat, Draco"

He sat.

"Stop slouching. Now Draco, I have business out of town that I must attend to immediately, so I will not be taking you into Diagon Alley to assist you in buying your new school things"

Draco simply nodded in understanding.

"Mr. Crabbe and his son, Vincent, have agreed to allow you to stay with them for the remainder of the summer holidays,-"

"Is mother accompanying you on your trip?" asked Draco, hoping to just stay home with her instead.

"Yes, she is," snapped his father. Draco should not have interrupted. " 10 o'clock tonight the Crabbes should be arriving by floo powder to gather you and your things. Be ready within the hour"

"Yes, father" said Draco, and he excused himself.

Well that was that.

A moment later he was in his bedroom again. He had a house elf fetch his trunk while he put his owl in its cage. By now it was pouring outside. Draco sighed. He knew that he wouldn't have a single intelligent conversation for the rest of the summer. Within an hour his things were ready by the fireplace.

"Have a good school year Draco,"

"I will mother," he said with a small smile.

His mother bid him goodbye, and his father gave him a bag of galleons to buy his school things with. The Crabbes arrived a shortly after 10, and by 10:30 he was sitting in Crabbe's room, where Goyle arrived shortly after.

"So, what now?" asked Draco rather dryly. 

"Well," Crabbe replied, "Mum'll be takin' us to Diagon Alley tomorrow at around noon, I think."

"Very well," said Draco.

Late that night, Draco lay awake staring at the cracks in Crabbe's ceiling.

"…1…2…3…"

**-***-** 

"Wake up, Wake up!"

Ron mumbled something unintelligible. Harry, who was staying for the summer, was groaning something similar in response.

"Come now Ron, we're late already! We have a long day ahead of us, don't we? Now just hush up, and get dressed. Breakfast will be ready in a moment."

Mrs. Weasley opened the curtains, letting sunshine fill the room. Ron sat up rubbing his eyes, muttering something sleepily under his breath. Mrs. Weasley left them to get ready and went to wake the girls. When she entered Ginny's room, she was surprised to see Ginny and Hermione already awake and dressed. Hermione was also staying with the Weasleys for the last 2 weeks of the summer. Ginny found herself becoming fast friends with Hermione. The two of them had been awake for hours already, talking, yet again, about Harry. Since Harry had come to stay with them for the whole summer, Ginny had finally managed to get over her fear of talking to him, and was now actually quite friendly with him. 

"We've been talking a lot lately, and I haven't even been freezing up or anything!"

"That's certainly an improvement," said Hermione with a chuckle. She too remembered the time when Ginny turned red just at the sight of Harry.

"Still, I'm not quite sure what he thinks of me"

"Gin, who ever knows what Harry's thinking?… Or any guy for that matter?"

"I guess that's true, but I'd still like to know."

"Well we'll see soon enough I suppose. Now come on, we ought to go down to breakfast"

Mrs. Weasley was setting the last plates on the table when everyone arrived and took a seat. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny filled their plates with the pancakes, bacon, and eggs that Mrs. Weasley had prepared for them. The table had never looked so empty,- The twins were out inventing new jokes and pranks for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Percy had left the Burrow a few months earlier on Ministry business, and with Charlie in Romania and Bill working for Gringotts, every one but Ginny and Ron was gone. Before Harry and Hermione arrived, the Burrow had felt extraordinarily quiet.

"It's so nice having Harry and Hermione over, don't you think?" said Mrs. Weasley quietly. "With five of my children all grown up and out of the house already, I'd begun to feel that everyone was leaving me!"

"Oh c'mon mum, we'd never just leave you, you know that" said Ron in a very sincere and reassuring way.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Well, enough of this. We're running late as it is! We'd better be off to Diagon Alley, it's almost noon!!"

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: Now quickly, go Read, Review! I would really appreciate some feedback on this, tell me what you think! The next chapter will be up soon.


	2. A Little Accident

A/N: I'm no good at this! Just read and review (please!)

Chapter Two: A Little Accident

They had arrived at Diagon Alley at around 12:15 in the afternoon. Ginny and Hermione waved goodbye to the others, who headed into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to buy Ron's new school clothes. Ron had grown no less than four inches in just one year, and his old robes had been too short to begin with. The girls decided that while he was being fitted, they would go ahead with their school shopping. Ginny and Hermione walked into Flourish and Blotts and toured the rows filled with books.

"Hehe, maybe you can find a book on learning to mind read"

"Yeah, that sure would help," Ginny giggled. "I'd buy anything to help me figure out what Harry thinks."

Hermione smiled and continued to look for her school books.

Ginny walked down the row while absent-mindedly scanning the book titles. Before realizing it, she walked right into someone, who dropped everything he was holding. Parchment, books, and ink bottles fell to the floor with a crash. Ginny looked down at the mess in horror, green and black ink had splashed all over his robes and shiny shoes. She looked up apologetically, and found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy. Frozen on the spot, she watched as his face went from angry to strangely calm. For a moment he had an almost sweet half smile on his face, but suddenly the smile changed and seemed menacing to her. She took a step backwards and tried hard not to cry. She hoped that he didn't intend to make her pay for all of it, because she simply didn't have the money.

"Well, we've got quite the mess here, don't we Weasley?" He said rather coolly.

"Um… I… well…" she stuttered.

"Mrs. Crabbe," he called over his shoulder, "I'm going to need to visit Madam Malkin's for a moment, I seem to have had a little… accident with the ink"

He began to walk away, but then suddenly, he turned around. Ginny held her breath.

"Come along Weasley, we must get these robes repaired."

She looked over at Crabbe and Goyle looking at quills- they seemed even bigger than she remembered. Her eyes began to dart around wildly for some sort of help. She looked around for Hermione but she was far off down the aisle, busy looking for her school books. Ginny tried to put on a brave face as she followed him out of the store. The two of them entered Madam Malkin's robe shop. While Draco briefly explained the damage to Madam Malkin, Ginny looked around hoping not to run into Ron and the others. When Draco finished explaining, Madam Malkin smiled understandingly and performed a simple spell, restoring his robes and shoes to their perfect condition.

"Thank you Madam Malkin, and how much will that cost?" said Draco, shooting Ginny a smug look.

"Oh no, dear" said Madam Malkin kindly, after seeing the look on Ginny's face, "it was just a simple spell, it's free of charge." She smiled again, and winked privately at Ginny, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, but I insist," said Draco, and to Ginny's surprise, he took out his own money and paid Madam Malkin for the spell.

He walked briskly out of the shop and back to Flourish and Blotts, with Ginny not far behind him. When they got there he simply walked off to continue his shopping without looking back, leaving Ginny behind. She walked back to where Hermione was looking at a mound of books that had caught her interest. Ginny tapped Hermione lightly on the shoulder. When Hermione turned around and saw the utter confusion on Ginny's face, all she said was "Ok, Spill." So Ginny told her about what had just happened. When she was through, Hermione was quiet for a moment, apparently in thought.

"So you mean, you thought he'd make you pay for the repair, but he didn't? Instead, he insisted on paying it himself?"

Ginny nodded. Hermione was silent again for a bit, and then she grinned.

"Hmm,… Do you suppose that he fancies you?" She said, stifling a giggle. Ginny almost choked while trying not to laugh.

"Are you insane? A Malfoy like a Weasley?"

"I know, I was only kidding… But seriously Ginny, we'd ought to watch out for him. He might be up to something."

Draco directed the owner of Flourish and Blotts to the mess, saying that he nearly slipped on it, but didn't know who made it. He then collected and purchased a new set of ink bottles, parchment, and books. He rejoined Crabbe and Goyle without saying anything, and they walked out of the store.

He himself didn't really know what had just happened. He turned everything over in his mind, trying to figure it out. The Weasley girl had walked into him, knocking all of his things to the floor. He saw his new robes and polished shoes dripping with ink and felt himself growing angry. He looked up when he met eyes with Ginevra Weasley. She was standing alone and terrified, and for some reason he felt his face soften and he smiled. With a jolt he realized what he was doing, and had to cover it up. So, quickly, he made up his mind to go to Madam Malkin's, where he would make Weasley pay for the damage that she had caused. Something had gone wrong though… Madam Malkin had refused any payment. He cleverly insisted that she be paid, and turned to look at Weasley. But, instead of making her pay, he found himself reaching into his own pocket and handing Madam Malkin the money. It was too late. He didn't know how to cover this one up, so he simply walked out of the shop and back to Flourish and Blotts without looking back. He simply couldn't understand why he was being so nice to a Weasley.

"Why did I pay for it?" He thought. He remembered the look on Ginny's face. She had gone from apologetic, to horrified, to relieved, to horrified again, and then finally, to puzzled. Puzzled, because she had noticed his strange behavior.

"I'm quite puzzled myself" Draco whispered. He smiled. This small stir of emotions was bothersome, yet somehow, it was exciting as well.

A/N: Review!

I think the next chapter will be called: Hogwarts Express, It should be up soon.


	3. Hogwarts Express

A/N: Thank you, dear, few reviewers. I really appreciate the suggestions. I apologize again for the short chapters,- I don't have much time to write. If it's any consolation, I'll try to make up for the chapter length by updating as often as I can.

I wrote this chapter really fast and really late at night, – no time to check it over, so it might be a little jumbly.

For Chris: Boom-shaka-laka

Anyway, onto the chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three: Hogwarts Express

The last two weeks of the summer passed in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all packed up and standing on Platform 9 ¾. After loading their trunks into a compartment near the end of the train, Ron and Ginny hugged their parents, and Harry and Hermione thanked the Weasleys for letting them stay for the summer. They all got back on the train and waved goodbye one last time. They took their seats in the compartment and soon the Hogwarts Express began to move.

Hermione reached into the large basket beside her and pulled out her huge ginger cat, Crookshanks. Ron nearly yelled as the cat jumped from Hermione's arms and into his lap.

"Isn't that sweet?" said Ginny, "He really likes you Ron."

"Yeah, I don't know why, but this darn cat has been following me around everywhere lately."

Hermione smiled, "It's because he's finally begun to trust you Ron"

"Well, I guess it's ok then," Ron said, blushing.

As the train sped through the country side, they all talked and joked and reminisced about the summer, and from time to time they broke into hysterical fits of laughter. Ginny smiled. She couldn't remember ever having so much fun.

A little while into the train ride Ron and Hermione were playing wizards chess, and as usual, Hermione was losing terribly. Harry tried to give her some good advice, and so did the chess pieces. Ginny sat to the side, watching while she pet Crookshanks.

"Checkmate" Ron finally said with a devilish grin.

"Alright, alright, so you win again. Now, how about we play a different game this time?" Hermione suggested.

Ron agreed, so Harry pulled out his deck of cards and they began to play Exploding Snap. After a while Ron started complaining of hunger pains, claiming that if he didn't have a pumpkin pasty soon he was going to die.

"Oh please, stop exaggerating Ron!" said Ginny.

"Seriously Gin, if I don't have something to eat soon, I'm afraid that I'll actually have to… eat one of those." He gagged, pointing at the roast beef sandwiches that Mrs. Weasley had made for them.

"Whoa, you're not kidding then, you really are hungry!" said Ginny, looking grave.

"Now that you mention it, I'm kind of hungry too" piped in Harry.

"Where's the food cart anyway? It should have come through by now," added Hermione.

Ginny shrugged. She put Crookshanks down on the seat, and got up. "I'm going up to the front to see where it is. You three keep playing, I'll be back in a bit."

"Thanks a million sis, but please hurry! That roast beef is starting to look almost edible…"

Further up the train Draco watched as Crabbe and Goyle stuffed themselves with cakes and candies. The two of them had bought practically the entire cart, and the little old witch had to go back to the front of the train to fill it again. Draco was telling jokes to a group of Slytherin fifth year girls, who were all in absolute giggles.

He laughed, and they swooned. He smiled, and they swooned. He breathed and they swooned.

This was just too easy. He decided to strike up a conversation, and so began with his favorite subject:

"Gryffindor house seems to lower it's standards more and more every year," he said. "I wonder who they'll let in next, probably a ---"

Draco was interrupted as the compartment door slid open. He turned around angrily in his seat to see who had interrupted him. Ginny Weasley walked in, and the Slytherin girls looked at her in disgust.

"What do you want Weasley?" asked a particularly vicious Slytherin.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to find out where the food cart is" Ginny responded coldly.

"Oh, well it came through 5 minutes ago, but as you see, It was just emptied," Draco said lightheartedly. He nodded toward Crabbe and Goyle, whose faces were filled with crème. "The cart is up at the front of the train, being refilled. It should come by again soon, though."

"Oh… well, thanks" she said softly.

"No problem," he said, smiling. The Slytherin girls were all staring in confusion. Ginny walked back through the door and slid it closed behind her.

"Did I just thank Malfoy? Was he really being nice to me?" she thought aloud to herself as she entered an empty compartment on her walk back.

"Yes, and yes, actually" someone answered her.

"Huh?" she spun around in surprise and saw Malfoy standing right behind her.

"I said yes, you did thank me, and yes, I was being nice to you."

"Oh." She said, rather stupidly.

He smiled. His smile was rather nice when it wasn't used in a threatening way, she thought. He had such nice, straight, white teeth, and his lips curled up in the corners just slightly. She smiled softly in return.

"Look Ginevra, I just came to remind you about the favor you owe me."

She snapped out of her trance. "What? I don't owe you any favors"

"I think you do. Don't you remember? I covered for you back at Diagon Alley." He looked at her and saw that she was still confused. So he refreshed her memory about their run in at Flourish and Blotts. She remembered all too well,- he had saved her a lot of humiliation by not making a big deal of the mess, and then he had paid for the damage she had caused to his robes.

"Shit," she said. So Hermione was right, she thought, he had had something up his sleeve all along.

"Don't worry too much about the favor for now," he said mischievously, "I'll let you know when it's time"

She tried to say something, but all she could get out was "…fppph"

He smiled again, and walked back into his compartment. She watched the door slide shut. She stood for a bit. Then it dawned on her.

She had just agreed to owing Draco a favor.

She was now in debt to a Malfoy.

He had a nice smile though…

She stood for a bit more and heard the little bell that signaled the approach of the food cart. Finally, she walked back toward the compartment and informed the others that the cart would be by in a bit, and it was. She sat down quietly, and watched the others as they satisfied their stomachs, and then as they continued their game of exploding snap. Ron's cards exploded, and she laughed a bit. Harry had won. He dealt cards out to Ron and Hermione to start a new game. He smiled at Ginny and asked if she wanted to play. Harry had a nice smile too, but in a dorky kind of way, she thought. She sighed.

"Sure, Deal me in" she said.

Hermione won this time just as the train pulled into the station. Hermione did a little victory dance and Ginny laughed. Her mood lightened. The four of them of them were happy to be back at Hogwarts. They got off the train and onto on of the enchanted carriages. As they sped toward the castle, they all talked and joked and reminisced about the summer, and from time to time they broke into hysterical fits of laughter. She hoped to have a lot more moments like this one.

A/N: I'm really excited about this chapter,- I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

Next chapter should be up in a day or two.

Now go Review!


	4. Sorting Ceremony

*A/N: I am really sorry that I haven't updated in so long,- tough times, what with AP Portfolio around the corner.

Well, anyway, here's Chapter Four (finally). Enjoy!

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

Chapter Four: Sorting Ceremony

She looked up and saw him sitting over at the Slytherin table, talking to some of his greasy Slytherin friends, in his boring Slytherin way. She saw his lips move as he said something and the people around him began to laugh. He smiled, not that beautiful true smile that she had seen earlier that night, but the familiar, cold, and smug smile that he usually wore. 'So, this is the reality of it,' she thought with a sigh. She watched him smile and drawl on and shook her head in disappointment. Suddenly, he glanced in her direction and she looked away immediately. In that short instant in which their eyes met, she felt warm with reminder of his smile on the train ride. She looked up again, and the feeling fizzled away. He was back to normal, talking to his sleazy friends.

She broke her gaze and shifted her attention to the front of the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall was leading in the new students. These first years watched nervously as the Sorting Hat was brought out and placed upon its stool. Some of them jumped with surprise as a rip in the hat opened and it began to sing. Ginny smiled, remembering the night that she was sorted, and how nervous she was. She watched as the students were all seated and sorted.

Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin!

Over at Slytherin table cheers erupted for their new addition. Malfoy smirked.

Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor!

Ginny clapped and cheered with the rest of the table. Colin Creevey, got up on his seat and took a photo of the first Gryffindor. The ceremony continued in such a fashion, with a ::click:: and a ::flash:: from Colin's camera marking the announcement of every new Gryffindor. Once the first years had all joined their houses, everyone sat looking at their golden plates in anticipation. This was the part they were waiting for, the food. And then it appeared. Everyone gasped as the plates before them filled with every kind of food imaginable, their mouths watering. Ginny took a deep breath and began to fill herself with a bit of everything in front of her. Around her, her friends were doing the very same. Ginny was sitting next to Colin, and across from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ron's face was full of gravy, and Hermione wiped it off with a napkin. Ginny smiled at Hermione and winked.

"What?" Hermione glared.

"Nothing, what do you mean?" Ginny answered innocently.

"No really, why did you just wink at me?"

"Oh no, nothing,…" She replied, glancing at Ron. Hermione caught her drift and scowled and blushed at the same time. Ginny laughed. She started talking to Colin, her best friend in fifth year. He was very nice, and hilariously funny once you got over his camera addiction. Right now he was looking up at the front of the Hall towards the teacher's table, apparently looking for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Right now he was looking up at the front of the Hall towards the teacher's table, apparently looking for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"I don't see anybody new… Oh wait, that woman on the end of the table, that must be her!"

She looked up and saw a beautiful witch in blue robes, who seemed quite young despite her long silver hair. Ginny smiled.

"She looks very nice, doesn't she?"

Colin nodded in agreement. Ron looked up to see who they were talking about.

"She looks familiar, but I don't know where from" he said.

They watched the new teacher for a minute to see what kind of woman she was. She was currently talking to Snape and Hagrid, who were both laughing merrily and smiling. Ginny looked surprised, she had often seen Hagrid in such a condition, but she never seen Snape look so light-hearted. 

"Even Snape seems to be smitten with her, don't you think? She must be quite the charmer." Ginny said momentarily.

Her attention was broken as the desserts appeared. Everyone had already filled themselves with dinner, yet managed somehow to make room for the great pies, ice cream, cakes, Jell-O, puddings, and fudge. Ginny had some of it all. She was stuffing a chunk of chocolate covered banana into her mouth when she noticed Parvati Patil look longingly at the wonderful feast of sweets.

"Why aren't you having any dessert Parvati?"

"Because I'm on a diet" answered Parvati, looking down a her empty plate.

"Why?? Your thinner then a toothpick!" she said, throwing one at her playfully. Parvati picked up the toothpick and thought for a bit.

 "Well," She said, "Just this once is ok, I mean, it is our first night back!"

Parvati scarfed down a whole plate of apple pie with ice cream like if she hadn't eaten in days. Harry and Ron looked at her in awe, as she threw the plate aside and reached for the brownies. Harry leaned over to Ron and whispered "Now that's my kind of woman!" Ginny overheard and went a little red in the face. She watched jealously as Harry joked and laughed and smiled his dorky smile with Parvati.

**-***-**

Draco watched Ginny across the room as she looked at Harry. 'What a waste,' he thought, 'that such a pretty girl should fall for some one like Potter.' He caught himself. Could he actually be jealous? No he thought, just curious. It was just funny to him that she could be so head over heels for Potter for no reason at all. If only someone could disillusion her, and let her see that there was more to the world that the famous and heroic Harry Potter. 'More important things, like me' he thought. Maybe he was just a little jealous, but he figured that he'd find a way to fix the situation. He would have to use the favor she owed him to his advantage.

Dessert was almost over, and Crabbe and Goyle spent a minute or two filling their pockets with as much dessert as they could before it all disappeared. Before dismissing everyone to their common rooms, Professor Dumbledore stood to make a few announcements.

"As you all know, for the past 5 years we have had many difficulties in finding and keeping Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. This year, we have again had little luck in finding someone who was willing to take the job. There have apparently been rumors that the position was cursed." He paused and smiled. "So this year we have decided to take on two changes."

Everyone sat in confusion. Two changes?

"The first change is that Professor Snape will now be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Draco smiled as he saw everyone gasp. Professor Snape was smiling as well, looking high and proud.

"The second change is that we have hired a new Potions teacher in his place. Please welcome Professor Bluebottle."

The new teacher stood, and the students clapped politely.

"I'd like to say a few words, if you don't mind, Professor Dumbledore"

"Of course, be my guest." He said kindly.

"It is really an honor, to be working at such a wonderful school as this, and under such a headmaster. I hope that my time here as the new Potions master will be a learning experience for myself, as well as for my students." She beamed and took her seat.

Professor Dumbledore finished his announcements and the students rose to leave.

**-***-**

Ron winced.

"Now I know why that woman looked so familiar. I remember her from a copy of mum's 'Witch Weekly'. She's a Potions expert!"

Ginny smacked her forehead.

"I read that article!" Ginny exclaimed. "How could I not have recognized her!"

"At least we know that we'll learn a lot from her. She is an expert after all," said Hermione brightly, she was always eager to learn.

Ginny nodded. "I guess so."

Everyone was in Gryffindor common room: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Colin, Parvati, Lavender, Neville, Dean, Seamus, the new first years, everyone. At first there were all chatty and alive, but little by little the room emptied, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione, Colin and Ginny. Harry and Ron soon went up to bed as well. Now Ginny sat alone with her two best friends on the best seats before the fireplace.

"Is something bugging you, Gin?" Colin asked with sleepy concern.

She sighed. She filled him in on everything, starting with her encounters with Malfoy. She told him and Hermione about owing him a favor.

"Just because you agreed to it doesn't mean you have to do him a favor," said Colin with a yawn. He was getting tired.

"I know, I know, it's just strange. Sometimes I feel this won't turn out so good, but sometimes I can't help but feel it'll all be ok."

"That makes no sense at all" said Hermione.

"Yeah, but anyway, forget about him, right now my mind is worrying enough about Harry"

"What about Harry?" asked Colin. He was lying on the rug by the fire, with his eyelids half open.

"You saw him tonight with Parvati!"

"Yeah, and?" Said Hermione. "You know Parvati. She's a beautiful little thing and all, but she's really empty-headed and controlling. Remember the Yule Ball? She treated Harry like her show dog. Believe you me, he'll get tired of her soon enough," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah besides, Gin, Harry's no good for you, you're one in a million."

Ginny blushed. Colin had a way of always complimenting her, and she never knew what to make of it.

"So Hermione, what do you think? Is Harry any good for me?"

"Frankly, Ginny, it's all or nothing at all with Harry. He's really thick with girls, you know that. If you hint and hint, he'll never get it. You either have to be straight forward with him, or forget him entirely. I'd say just forget him."

"Maybe you're right… We'll see. I'm going to be forward with him, and see what he's got to say. And if he turns me down, he's an idiot and doesn't even know what he's missing, right?"

Colin nodded with a lazy smile, and Hermione agreed. Ginny cheered up. The three of them got up and went their separate ways up to their dormitories.

As Ginny lay awake in bed she thought to herself 'I am going to tell that Harry Potter what I think of him first thing in the morning, I'll show him.' She smiled, and formulated a plan in her head as she drifted to sleep.

**-***-**

Back in Slytherin common room everything had settled down and Draco was glad that everyone was gone and asleep. He hated sitting and talking to his fellow Slytherins more than anything in the world. He kept having to think of rude and clever comments and jokes to keep them happy. No, he liked it better alone, where he had space and time to think. And so he thought. And of course, whenever he started thinking, he had to be interrupted.

Pansy Parkinson was walking down the stairs from her dormitory in her night gown and bathroom, trying to look sexy. 'Ugh' he thought to himself, 'Pug-face Parkinson's coming over to try and seduce me again.' And so she was. She sat uncomfortable close to him on the couch and placed a hand on his lap.

"What wrong Draco? Why alone and so quiet?" she breathed dumbly.

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"Stuff."

"Oh."

Silence.

She moved a little closer and he shuddered. She mistook his shudder for a shiver and moved closer to warm him up. He looked up at her face, and realized that it was mere inches away from his. She closed her eyes and wet her lips, she was leaning forward… and he stood up.

"I'm very sleepy, I ought to get to bed. Good night Pansy," he said with a forced yawn. He ran up the stairs to his dormitory as fast as he could.

Pansy sat alone in the darkness.

"He totally wants me."

**-***-**

"Phew!"

Draco lay on his bed thinking of his near death experience with Pansy Parkinson. That had almost gotten ugly, but he was safe now. He'd been in that situation many times before,- ugly girls trying to make moves on him. He preferred to do the move making himself, and he did it quite often, and on much prettier girls than Pansy. In fact, he was going to do some move making very soon. 'Draco Malfoy always gets what he wants,' he thought, 'and never less.' He formulated a plan in his head as he fell asleep with a lazy smile on his face. Tomorrow would be the day.

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: Joy, I have finally updated!

Coming SOON- Chapter Five: Plans in Action

Review now!


	5. Plans In Action

A/N: :Cough Cough Hack: Nancy's sick. But Nancy, being ever strong and persevering, is sitting here, writing you a new chapter, because she loves you so much.

Thanks so much for the reviews guys, they're a real boost.

Alyssa Raven- Yeah for some reason that's my favorite part too J.

Lauracita- I think that's a really good idea, and I'll definitely work it in.

Well, Here's the chappy. It's kind of short, but I hope you like.

Chapter Five: Plans in Action

"Oh glorious morning! Today is the day!" Ginny said cheerily to herself. Today she would act out her infallible plan. She was going to march right up to Harry and tell him exactly how she felt, and he was going to like it. NO, was going to love it. She had hopped out of bed an hour early, washed up, dressed up, and dolled up just for the occasion. Now she stood grinning at her own marvelous reflection. She smiled, winked at herself, and tossed her long shining red hair back over her shoulder.

"Gorgeous. Gin, you look great. You're going to knock Harry's socks off!" She thought aloud.

She walked out of the dormitory with a new bounce in her step, shining all the way down to the common room. Jaws dropped as she passed by.

"Holy mother of God,…" murmured some totally random person.

"Yo, Gin, looking hot!" Howled another.

She smiled to acknowledge his presence, but stayed on course. She walked into the Great Hall and toward Gryffindor table, radiating with confidence. She spotted Harry and hesitated. There he was, sitting and chatting away merrily with Parvati, whose head was resting on his shoulder. Ginny shook herself, worked up some nerve, and continued to make her way over,- but then she froze. Parvati had lifted her head from Harry's shoulder and kissed him full on the mouth. Harry smiled at Parvati with pleasant surprise, and Parvati burst into giggles. Ginny's heart fell. She backed slowly out of the hall and turned around, tears welling up in her eyes. She rushed out with her head down and bumped into someone, who dropped his bag. She looked up.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," said Draco Malfoy, looking down at his fallen bag with a smile. He glanced up at Ginny, took a close look at her face, and saw that she was on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked, with what seemed like genuine concern. She continued to look down, trying not to cry. Draco grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him.

"Seriously, what's wrong??"

"What's with the sudden interest anyway?" she snapped bluntly as she wrenched herself free of his grip. She shoved past him and he caught her by the arm.

"It's not funny, Malfoy, just let me go back to my common room! I don't need any of your sly remarks right now."

"No, really, I just want to know what's wrong. No jokes, no remarks, no insults. I promise."

Ginny's lip quivered. She looked up at his sincere face and suddenly lost it. She began crying uncontrollably. He tried for a moment to comfort her and offered to walk her back to her common room. She slowly accepted. Half way there he paused and turned to face her.

"Does this have anything at all to do with Potter?" he asked, remembering him and Parvati at the feast. She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"What'd he do? Run off with Patil?"

"Yeah,… how did you know?"

"It's not so hard to notice these things. Besides, he deserves that silly girl."

She smiled weakly.

"You still haven't told me why you are being so nice to me. This doesn't make any sense at all."

He shrugged in response. "I'm not sure, to be honest, Weasley," he said truthfully.

"Don't call me Weasley like that, you make it sound demeaning."

"Oh, sorry, Ginevra then."

They stood in awkward silence for a moment, looking at each other.

He stood tall and lean before her with his white blonde hair in his face. She stared into his eyes, questioningly, and he stared back into hers. Her eyes were a little red, but she looked stunning nonetheless, he thought- almost as if she had gotten ready just for him. He cocked his head to the side and a smile spread sweetly across his lips. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward gently and kissed her.

No less than ten minutes later, their lips parted. Ginny removed her arms from around his neck and looked up in wide-eyed shock. It occurred to her with a jolt that she had just been kissing Draco Malfoy. He smiled warmly down at her and leaned forward to kiss her again. She moved away from him and his hands slipped from her waist. She took a step backward and began shaking her head slowly in disbelief.

"But,…" he said, perplexed, "I thought…" He couldn't get out his full sentence before Ginny turned around and ran all the way to Gryffindor common room.

"Wait!" He called after her. She disappeared around a corner, her red hair trailing behind her.

"Damn it! I can't believe this!" he cursed out loud to himself.

For the first time ever, Draco Malfoy had been rejected. Draco knew what he wanted, and failed to get it. He stood staring down the empty corridor. Rejection, it was a lesson that he finally learned, the hard way.

Ginny ran past the common room, up the stairs, and into the dormitory, shutting the door behind her. She was out of breath from all the running. She sat down against the wall. She felt so many things all at once and couldn't sort it all out right. She was filled with a mixture of grief, confusion, shock, excitement, and surprise. Excitement? Why excitement?

Draco had kissed her, and not only didn't she stop him, but she enjoyed it as well. It wasn't all the running that took her breath away, she thought, it was him.

She snapped out of it and took notice of the time. She washed the dry tears from her face. She took a deep breath, gathered herself, and realized just how hungry she was. She ran down to breakfast, picked up a piece of toast, swallowed a goblet of orange juice, and headed in the direction of the dungeons.

'I hope Professor Bluebottle won't mind my being a little late,' she thought as she ran to her first class of the year, Potions.

On one of the black leather couches of the Slytherin common room, Draco sat, still cursing to himself.

"Go on ahead, I'll join you in a bit" he said to Crabbe and Goyle. He thought hard and clear. He felt a strange attraction to her for some reason. Whenever he was around her he could feel himself softening. 'Not softening, really,' he thought, 'more like relaxing.' Her presence relaxed him, and he could stop being so damned pretentious. He thought about this for a bit, and knew that his Slytherin friends would never accept something as ludicrous as him with a Gryffindor,… even less a Weasley. He would have to hide it from them of course. But that didn't trouble him so much right now. Right now all he cared about was that some way or another he was going to win her over. He stood up and walked out of the common room, toward Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He smiled as he made his way to class… 'That had been a rather nice kiss.' He thought.

He felt reassured. Somehow he knew it would all work out just fine.

A/N: Again, forgive the shortness. I have more to write, but I'll put it in the next chapter because I like to separate major events.

Review please,… pretty please, with a cherry on top?

Next chapter I think will be- Chapter Six: Calling in the Favor

This will be a fun one, and it should be up really soon.


	6. Calling in the Favor

A/N: A nice happy chapter for my ever-patient reviewers. It's been a long time since I've updated. Anyway, I hope you won't be disappointed after the wait!

Chapter Six: Calling in the Favor

"Ah Miss Ginevra Weasley! You're just on time, please take a seat!" said Professor Bluebottle kindly.

Ginny nodded and shared a table with Colin where she set up her cauldron.

"Where've you been Ginny? I was looking for you everywhere this morning!" Colin whispered.

"Tell you later," she answered quickly as Bluebottle stood at the front of the class.

"As you have heard, I am your new Potions Professor, Professor Bluebottle. You may also call me Professor Blue, or just Blue if you prefer,"

"How about Professor Orange?" someone said in a low voice. Professor Blue overheard this and laughed merrily.

"Yes, I do get such jokes quite often. Some people call me Orange, Green, Purple,… In fact, it has been a popular joke among friends of mine. Perhaps I can turn it into a contest?"

The students all nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright. So, whichever house is most creative will receive 20 points and butterbeers all around at the next Hogsmeade trip. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a good idea Professor Lilac," said a student with a grin.

Professor Blue smiled, turned around and with a flick of her wand produced a tally board behind her desk. A notch appeared under a swirly sign that said "Hufflepuff."

"So, now that that's settled, let me tell you a bit about myself. I attended Hogwarts not long ago, around the same time as many of your parents. I was in the same year as Professor Snape. I was in Ravenclaw, and a chaser on the Ravenclaw quidditch team from my third year. While in school I was a prefect, and I excelled in Potions. I went on to a Potions related career in Switzerland for many years and then did a lot of traveling around the world writing books. I decided to finally settle down in one place, and that is when I found out about the job position at Hogwarts. I love reading, animals, and ice cream."

A couple of students chuckled at this last, random sentence. She continued to speak:

"Enough about me, I would like to find out what Professor Snape has taught you thus far."

She compiled a list of everything they said they'd learned with Snape. She looked at the list happily.

"Wonderful. You are all further along than I expected you to be in your fifth year! Professor Snape must have been an excellent Potions instructor" She said thoughtfully.

The students grumbled somewhat in agreement.

"Now that I know where you all stand, we can begin. Please set up your cauldrons and open your books to page 243…"

The class continued in a very enjoyable fashion. All the while notches appeared magically on the tally board behind Professor Bluebottle's desk, with Gryffindor in the lead by 2 points.

Shortly after class was dismissed, Ginny and Colin walked out of the dungeons and toward the greenhouses for Herbology. As they walked, they discussed their first Potions class with their new teacher.

"I think Blue is positively marvelous. She's really a great teacher." Said Ginny.

"Yeah, she is. I used to dread Potions before, but not anymore. Besides that, she is drop dead gorgeous." Colin replied dreamily.

"Oh please Colin! I'll admit that's true, but she's a bit old for you. After all, she went to school with Snape!"

"Don't remind me! I refuse to even believe that!" He shuddered.

They continued to chat away when Colin remembered something.

"Hey, Ginny, you never told me where you were this morning."

"Oh, yeah. I went to talk to Harry, remember?"

"You did? How did it go?"

"I didn't tell him,… I kind of chickened out." She said truthfully.

"Why? This didn't have anything to do with Parvati did it?"

She nodded.

"Well, Gin, I guess it was just for the best, you know?"

She sighed, thinking about Draco. Had that been for the best as well?

"I suppose Harry and I were never really going to get together anyway. Actually, I am quite fine about it now. It doesn't bother me so much anymore."

"Really? That's great Ginny, I'm glad to hear that you are finally getting over him." He said supportively.

"Yeah, but he and Parvati had better be happy after what they put me through today…"

Draco decided to set Ginny out of his mind for the time being so that he could concentrate on class. He had really been looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts ever since he found out that Snape would be the teacher. He took a seat and waited quietly for class to begin. Finally, Professor Snape strolled in, looking smug.

"Welcome," he said rather dramatically, "to Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Toward the back of the room someone coughed. Draco turned around silently and saw Potter and Company sitting with scrunched up faces. No doubt they thought there was something funny. Snape ignored the cough and walked across the room from one side to the other. He passed out a quiz to each of the students to see how much they knew. When he got back their papers, he shook his head sadly.

"You are all inexcusably behind indeed. Only Granger and Malfoy are up to speed." He shot them each an approving look, and Hermione looked at him in disbelief. In all her years at Hogwarts, he had never praised her.

"We must," Snape continued, "catch you all up. Take out your books, quills, and parchment, and prepare to take notes."

They spent the rest of class taking notes on advanced curses and counter curses. Fifteen minutes before the end of class, Snape made an announcement.

"Next class we shall be learning how to perform a few of these curses, and then we will be paying special attention to their counter curses."

After saying this, he dismissed the class five minutes early and walked briskly out of the room.

"Where is he going in such a rush?" Harry said to Ron and Hermione. They each shrugged in response.

"That's not important. I'm afraid of our next class… We'll be learning curses! I can already smell trouble." Neville said, glancing nervously around at the Slytherin students as they left the room. Draco laughed to himself. That silly boy Neville was probably right, he was practically a bad luck magnet.

Draco walked into the hall and off to his next class, and saw Snape heading toward the dungeons. He wondered for a moment what Snape was up to. 'Was that a little skip? Hmm… Snape? Skipping? How strange' he thought. But he soon forgot about Snape, because at that moment Ginevra Weasley passed down the hall in the opposite direction walking with that boy who was always taking pictures. Draco made brief eye contact with her, but she didn't stop walking or talking with her friend. Draco sighed and made his way to Transfiguration.

The rest of the day passed without event, and now it was lunchtime. He went swiftly to his dormitory, exchanged these books for those books and went down to the Great Hall to eat. He sat as usual between Crabbe and Goyle, and surrounded by his other Slytherin friends.

"I think we have double Potions next, with the Gryffindors," said a fellow sixth year, "we always seem to have double Potions with the Gryffindors."

Draco grimaced. He used to love Potions with the Gryffindors, but only because Professor Snape hated Gryffindors. Who knew what the new teacher would be like? He thought about this for a bit while taking a drink from his goblet. He nearly spit out his drink when Pansy Parkinson sat directly across from him.

"So Draco, you must have been really sleepy last night, huh?" she said in what she thought was a cute and humorous tone.

"Oh yes, dreadfully tired," He lied.

"Well if you're not too tired tonight, maybe we could pick up where we left off…"

Draco almost lost his lunch, but somehow he managed to keep his cool. "I'm a bit busy tonight Pansy, perhaps another time in the… distant future"

"Oh,… well we'll see." She smiled fiercely, and left back to her own seat to finish off her meal.

'Ugh, I hate that girl' Draco thought, 'She can't take a hint.'

Ever since he had taken her to the Yule Ball as a last minute decision, she acted as if he was secretly in love with her (yuck). Normally he would have no problem telling a girl to lay off, but he couldn't insult Pansy. His father and her father were very good friends, and snubbing her would be a very bad thing to do. He looked over to where Pansy was sitting and winced. She was looking right at him. He got up and walked quickly out of the hall. He poked his head around the corner and saw her excitedly excuse herself from the table. 'Oh no, she's going to follow me…' He thought. He continued to walk at the fastest pace that he could without looking conspicuous. He glanced over his shoulder to see Pansy not far behind. He turned a corner and ran smack into Ginevra Weasley, smashing her pumpkin pasty into the front of her robes. She yelped, and he covered her mouth and pushed her up against a wall.

"Ginevra, you have to help me… Pansy's on my tail, I need to get away from her." He said all in one breath.

"What?" she said, stunned, "What are you talking about?"

"Tell you later, just do me this one favor! Break open her bag or block her direction or anything! Just get her off my back long enough to get me around the corner into a good hiding spot!" he said again in one breath.

Ginny began to laugh at the look of sheer desperation on his face. She stopped herself and nodded.

"Alright fine, but you owe me!"

As soon as she nodded, he ran off as fast as he could without thinking about what she said. Seconds later, Ginny smiled as she saw Pansy approaching. Just as Pansy came with in two feet of her, she leaned forward on one knee as if to tie her shoe. Pansy tripped over Ginny's back and dropped her bag, spilling its contents to the floor. She looked at Ginny as she picked up her things, hollering and cursing something incoherent. Ginny merely shrugged and said "Sorry!" very quickly and ran off down the hall and up some stairs toward her common room.

She sat down in one of the big couches and began laughing. She looked down at her robes filled with food. He had dirtied a pair of her robes, which made them even. THEN she did him the favor of stopping Pansy. Basically, not only had she made up for the favor that she owed Malfoy, but now he owed her one. Now it was a Malfoy who was in debt to a Weasley. She smirked, rose from the couch, and went up to her dormitory to change into some fresh clean robes.

After lunch finished, Ginny went to class and everything was as normal. Soon it was time for dinner. She sat at Gryffindor table with Colin, discussing their Transfiguration lesson. Harry, Parvati, Ron, and Hermione soon joined them. They all chatted away about their first day back in class. Ginny told them all about Potions, and how wonderful Professor Bluebottle was.

"That sounds cool. I wonder if our class will be participation in the contest as well." Said Harry, who was half paying attention to the conversation, and half to his new girlfriend, Parvati.

"Never mind that. How is she as a teacher? Did you learn much?" asked Hermione eagerly.

"Forget learning," said Ron, turning to face Colin "Isn't she hot for a teacher?"

Their continued conversing happily this way until dinner was almost over. From time to time Ginny would glance over at Slytherin table and catch eyes with Malfoy. She did so right now. He looked at her and then motioned toward the door. She nodded and excused herself from the table and he did the same.

"I'll see you back at the common room guys, I uh… need to check something out in the library"

Ginny cleared her plate and found Draco standing outside the hall waiting for her. They walked for a bit and into an empty classroom. It was a little dark in the room so he lit a small blue fire and placed it in a wastebasket. They sat on a desk for a few moments in silence.

"Thanks for the save today, Ginevra" he finally said.

"It's ok. Pansy was a bit mad at me though. She's been shooting me death stares in the halls ever since," She said. "What was that all about anyway?"

"Well, she kind of has a thing for me and I can't really tell her to back off. She was just about to corner me, which is why I need a diversion."

Ginny laughed. She told him about tripping Pansy and what Pansy said and so on. He chuckled.

"I guess that means we are even with the favors, huh?" He said, smiling beautifully.

"Well,… not really" she answered, her eyes shimmering.

He looked a bit surprised at this, and asked "What do you mean, 'not really'?"

"Well you did dirty my robes after knocking into me, remember? I spent the rest of lunch trying to clean it out, because I knew my robes wouldn't be back from the laundry before I needed them. So,… I think that qualified us as even. Then on top of that I helped you out with Pansy. I figure you owe me a favor now."

Draco looked admiringly at her cleverness. She had him right where she wanted him, but he didn't really mind.

"What about right after breakfast though, when I comforted you?" He said. "Doesn't that make us even?"

"No," she said after a moment, "I don't think that a make out session can be considered a favor. But before that you were being very sweet, and so I'll just take that as a kind gesture. You still owe me a favor though."

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"What would you do if I kissed you again?"

Ginny thought for a moment, not really knowing what she would do if he kissed her. She looked up at him to say this, but before she could, he had put his lips to hers. Now she knew what she would do,… she would kiss him back. So she did.

A/N: :Sigh: Happiness. Go review!


	7. A Late Night Talk

*A/N: Long time no update. Times are tough, but I will try to update ATLEAST once or twice a week from now on. Well now I have updated, and I hope you like!

This is like two different chapters put together in the length of one chapter. This chappy is mostly dialogue, so be prepared.

Oh, and thank you guys so much for reviewing, you're so great! I'm so happy!

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

Chapter Seven: A Late Night Talk

He wore a smile in his eyes as their lips finally parted. He looked at her affectionately.

 "You're not going to run away again are you?" he asked Ginny playfully. She shook her head and smiled.

"Who are you, Draco? You used to be so cold and mean to me. Why the sudden change? You're totally different from what I thought," she said with a tone of curiosity. For a while Malfoy seemed lost in thought about her questions. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke.

"I know that I've always been a rather unpleasant person, but that's what gains my respect and I have to take care of my reputation, I am a Malfoy after all. But lately I've just… I don't know,… I've been so bored with the usual scowling and sneering, taunting and teasing. It had gotten tedious and so I really wanted a change. I began to notice you, always laughing or smiling,- being yourself and never hiding what you really think or feel. I admire you for your ability to do that."

Ginny blushed as she turned this over in her mind. She looked up at him and kissed him again very quickly, and then she smiled. He put an arm around her and brought her closer to him.

"Ginny," he said quietly.

"Yes?"

"You know that even though I really do like you, I can't afford to let anyone know about this."

Ginny nodded. "Everyone in Slytherin and Gryffindor would go mad."

"Exactly. In the halls I'll probably seem to be just as much of a pain-in-the-ass as usual. But whatever hurtful things I may say to you, just remember that I won't mean it."

Ginny nodded, knowing that this was the truth. She wondered whether she would be able to tell Colin or Hermione, and whether they would understand. She decided that eventually she would tell them, but that first she would wait a while. Her thoughts were interrupted as Draco decided to change the subject.

"You know, I didn't expect you to actually follow me out into the hall…"

"Well, I just thought you were planning on explaining the whole Pansy thing,- which you did."

"Oh, yeah, the Pansy thing. I forgot about that," he said laughing, "I hope she doesn't try anything when I get back to the common room. Speaking of which, we'll have to be going back soon. I wonder what time it is…"

Ginny glanced down at her watch and sighed.

 "It's getting late," she said.

"I thought so," Said Draco. He slid off the desk, and turned to her. "We've really got to get going…" he said rather reluctantly.

She sighed, biting her lip. "I guess so. Besides, the others will begin to wonder where I am."

Draco frowned. 'The Others,' as in the Dream Team: Potter, Granger and Weasley. His face flickered with disgust. 'How could this girl be associated with those three?' He thought.

Seeing the look on his face, Ginny began to worry. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh no, nothing," he lied, "I was just thinking about how much I don't want to go right now"

This answer seemed to please Ginny, and she admitted that she felt the same way. The two of them devised a plan to meet again somewhere soon. Draco gave Ginny a quick kiss, and bid her goodnight. He left the room and closed the door. Moments later, she poked her head out into the hall. The coast was clear.

**-***-**

She walked to her common room, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Finally she arrived in front of the portrait of the fat lady. She took a moment to gather herself and then uttered the password.

The common room was full of its usual warmth and noise. Colin was sitting on a couch in front of the fire. She sat down across from him and saw the he was fast asleep, clutching his camera like a teddy bear. She chuckled and went to sit by Ron and Hermione, who were playing another game of wizard chess. Yet again Hermione was losing. 'Doesn't she ever learn?' thought Ginny. She watched as Hermione sat, thinking excruciatingly hard. Hermione moved one of her knights forward and it was promptly smashed by Ron's bishop. Hermione cursed under her breath and then looked up at Ginny.

"Oh, hello Gin. Got a lot of research done at the library?"

Ginny was puzzled for a moment and then she remembered. "Yes, yes I did."

"It's your turn, Herms," said Ron, interrupting for a moment. Hermione pondered, and moved a piece. Ron smiled, snickered, and moved his queen.

"Checkmate," he said with a smirk. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table, looking quite cozy. He loved chess, especially against Hermione. It seemed to boost his confidence.

"I win again, of course," he said.

Ginny laughed and Hermione scowled. She admitted defeat, and said "You'll see Ron. One day I'll beat you. We'll have a Battle of Chess- To the Death!' she said jokingly, yet with a small bit of seriousness in her voice.

"Anyway, Gin, what was it that you so eager to research?" Hermione said, facing Ginny.

"Nothing really, just something I was curious about in Potions. Professor Bluebottle has gotten me very interested in the class," Ginny said very convincingly. Hermione nodded in approval.

"It's really wonderful that you are getting into your school work Ginny" she said happily.

Ron leaned forward to join the conversation. "Potion's must be so much nicer without Snape. The only problem is that now Defense Against the Dark Arts has become a nightmare."

"I haven't had DADA with Snape yet, but I think I have it on Wednesday," said Ginny with a touch of worry.

"It's not really that bad Ginny. Snape really does know a great deal about the subject," said Hermione.

Ron's only reply to this was to shake his head gravely and say "Good luck, Gin."

Ginny smiled. "I think I'll go up to bed now, I'm getting a bit sleepy." Ginny got up, ruffled Hermione's hair, and hugged her brother goodnight. She woke Colin, and then went upstairs to the fifth year girls' dormitory to bed.

**-***-**

Ginny lay awake thinking. It was very late when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She peeked out of the door to see Hermione climbing the stairs on tiptoe. She opened the door, walked into the hall, and eased it closed behind her.

"What are you doing out of bed so late Hermione?" Ginny whispered.

Hermione looked shocked at being caught awake. "Studying," she answered.

"With Ron?" said Ginny with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, so?" said Hermione haughtily.

Ginny laughed, and then paused, listening. The steps creaked and Parvati approached the top of the steps. Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and giggled. Parvati blushed.

"What are the two of you doing up?" asked Parvati.

"I heard a noise and then caught Hermione out here on the stairs. She was with Ron," said Ginny.

"We were studying!" insisted Hermione.

"Is that was you call it?" whispered Parvati.

 "Just what are you insinuating, Miss Parvati Patil??" asked Hermione furiously.

"Come on Hermione, I know you like my brother," said Ginny.

"We were only studying!"

"Hush Herms, people are trying to sleep!" said Ginny, and then she added "Ok, maybe you two really were studying… but admit it, you do have a thing for Ron, don't you?"

Ginny and Parvati waited expectantly for Hermione to answer. Finally she blushed and nodded slowly. "Tell anyone and die," she then said out of nowhere. The girls agreed and were sworn to secrecy. They all sat down on the steps and decided to stay and talk for a bit.

"So, when are you going to tell Ron that you fancy him?" asked Parvati.

"Never."

"Come on," exclaimed Ginny, "He obviously likes you back!"

"You think so?" asked Hermione hopefully.

"We know so" They answered confidently. Hermione beamed. After a moment, she shifted the attention away from herself and turned to Parvati.

"So, Parvati," said Hermione, shifting the attention away from herself, "Why are you still up? Were you with Harry?"

Parvati giggled and then stopped, looking worriedly at Ginny.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry. I should have asked if you were ok with all of this. I know that you really like Harry," she said sincerely.

"It's ok, really. I'm over him," said Ginny honestly. Parvati smiled appreciatively. Then she got what she thought was a marvelous idea.

"Ginny, we should find you a guy! I've got Harry, and Hermione likes Ron, what about you? Who do you like?" said Parvati.

"Ginny's eyes widened for a moment and she quickly said, "No one right now, and I kind of like it that way, thank you very much." She shook her head nervously.

"Suit yourself," said Parvati. Satisfied with Ginny's answer, she yawned and left to bed. Hermione stayed behind though, looking intensely at Ginny with her head cocked to the side.

"I saw that look on your face Ginny,… you've already found someone haven't you?" said Hermione.

Ginny denied this fervently, but Hermione was not convinced. "Don't lie to me," she said, "I can tell something's up,… Wait! You weren't really at the library today, were you? You were with him!"

"With who? Who's him?" Ginny gasped.

"You tell me," Hermione said stoutly, but Ginny remained silent.

"I'll find out," said Hermione with an impish smile, "But right now I ought to get to bed, we have school tomorrow. Goodnight Gin." She left and Ginny turned around and went back into her dormitory. She quietly closed the door behind her and lay awake in bed for a minute or two.

'Damn Hermione and her cleverness.' She thought.

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: Whew, that took a lot out of me. Thank goodness writing is just a hobby for me.

I really do respect and support all of you aspiring writers. It's a tough business, so kudos and more power to you.

I can feel myself growing weak! I need strength and motivation to write, so review and I shall grow stronger!

Next chapter should be up within a couple of days or so.


	8. Discovery

*A/N: I know I lied to you guys. At the end of the last chapter I said I would update in a couple of days and it's been almost two weeks.

Well I should be working on my art, I have juries this Friday (wish me luck)!!! Instead my defense mechanisms kick in and I am hiding from work by writing. Joy!

Have fun reading this next chapter! It's a short one, but it's fun.

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

Chapter Eight: Discovery

In the morning Hermione woke up bright and early. She washed up, walked into the girl's fifth year dormitory and woke Ginny. She waited for Ginny to brush her teeth and get ready, and then she escorted her to breakfast. At the table, Hermione smiled at Ginny and offered her some bacon. Hermione had this gut feeling about something, as she often did, and so she felt that it was time to investigate. She watched Ginny's eyes and followed their gaze. Right now Ginny was focusing on food and Hermione. The two of them made small conversation until Hermione couldn't take it anymore.

"Who is he?"

"Who's who?" asked Ginny calmly.

"The guy you like!" exclaimed Hermione.

Ginny shook her head and denied the existence of such a person. Suddenly her eyes darted upward, and Hermione's eyes followed. It was only the owls flying in to deliver the morning mail. Hermione stared in surprise as an unrecognizable tawny owl landed in front of Ginny with a note. Ginny picked up the note, read it, scrawled a reply, and sent the owl off. Hermione wanted to see who the owl would go to, but it flew through a window and out of sight. Hermione shot a questioning look at Ginny but she was gone. Frustrated, Hermione banged her fist on the table.

"WHO is he??" she said aloud.

"Who's who?" asked Ron, who had just seated himself in Ginny's former spot.

"Ugh, no one. Ginny obviously likes someone, and I want to know who!"

"She does? Ginny likes someone other than Harry? It's about time," said Ron with a smile. But his smile flickered away and he added, "But he had better be someone that I'd approve of. We can't have my little sis going after some loser or something. Tell me if you find out, ok?"

"Alright Ron"

"Promise you'll tell me when you find out?"

"Of course!" she said with a grin.

**-***-**

Ginny scuttled out of the Great Hall as discreetly as possible, turned sharply to the left, then to the left again. There he was, leaning against a wall, waiting for her. She saw the tawny owl fly past him down the hall and out through a window. She turned her attention back to Draco and smiled.

"So, who's owl was that?" she asked him.

"It belongs to the school. I borrowed it from the owlery. I figured that mine would be a little too obvious, don't you agree?"

Draco's huge eagle owl popped into mind and Ginny agreed. She took a shy step forward and he confidently took her by the waist and pulled her into an embrace. Started she looked at him and her lips formed a question.

"You've been in this kind of situation before, haven't you?" she said. He was very forward.

"I guess you could say that," he answered. He'd had a lot of experience with girls, but he didn't really feel like talking about all of that. "Anyway, I couldn't wait to see you," he said, placing a well wanted kiss on her lips.

"You know, it wasn't easy getting here," Ginny said. "Hermione figures that I like someone and she's determined to find out who. She was following me around all morning!"

"Ugh" was all that Draco said. 'That snoopy brat is always sticking her nose where it shouldn't be,' he thought to himself. Despite his attraction to Ginny, he still hated her friends. He decided not to let it bother him for now.

"Ginny," Draco said with assurance, "Don't worry about Hermione. She won't find out."

"Yes she will," she said quietly.

"Will she?"

"Yes, and it's only a matter of time too. But I don't think it's anything to fret over. When she does figure it out, I'll talk to her about it, and she'll understand… eventually."

Draco looked a little uneasy, but Ginny gave him a reassuring look and he smiled. She loved his smile, and she told him so.

"I don't know why," she said, "but your smile,- the sincere, real smile,… it's wonderful."

"I think you are the only one to have every seen me truly smile." Draco sighed and continued. "Before all of this, I was just miserable and bored out of my mind."

"Why is that?"

"It's just really hard, you know, being a Malfoy. There's just so much to live up to, so many expectations from my friends, my family… and recently I've just been getting tired of it. I did love it at first. All I had to do was mention my father's name and people would turn to putty in my hands, but I'm bored of that now. These past 5 years have been so monotonous. I remember right before this year began, I was hoping for a change, any change at all. Then I saw you at Diagon Alley, and I had a chance to test myself. I didn't see it that way back then though, but now I do. Now I have the change that I wanted."

Ginny looked into his light eyes and partially understood. Without another word she closed her eyes and leaned close to him. They stood together kissing until their privacy was interrupted. The sound of crashes and laughter signaled the arrival of Peeves down the hall. They separated, leaving to each of their classes.

**-***-**

Two weeks passed and Draco and Ginny continued to meet secretly in this way. Twice Hermione came within moments of discovering them, and it was only a matter of time until she would figure it all out. But Ginny had expected this and just waited patiently for Hermione to work everything out in her head. There had been many clues, like frequent glances over to Slytherin table…

But Hermione refused to consider the possibility of Ginny meeting in private with anyone from the Slytherin house. For a few days she entertained the idea that there might be chemistry between Ginny and Colin, which was obviously not true. By this time she had almost given up, which was something that she seldom did. She grew lenient with Ginny, allowing her to run off with 'whoever-he-is,' and she began to worry about her own problems…

It was morning and she sat in front of the bathroom mirror, trying hard to tame her wild hair. Some brushing here, and some hair care potion there, and her hair was swung back into a regular, but cute pony tail. She played with make up for a bit and put on some fresh new school robes and went down to breakfast. As usual she sat next to Ron. She greeted him with a smile and he smiled back at her through a mouthful of buttery toast. After a moment or two he choked it all down and said a hearty "Hello."

His flaming red hair was an absolute mess, with strands sticking out everywhere. There was nothing spectacular about his face, but there was just a sweet and endearing quality about him that Hermione loved. Maybe it was the facial expressions, the blue-green eyes, or the freckle filled skin. She looked at him affectionately and he looked back at her, slightly puzzled.

"Hermione, what's up with you? You have a strange look on your face," Ron said with concern. He wiped off his face, but butter was still smeared on his left cheek. Hermione leaned over and wiped his face with her napkin. She was constantly wiping his face like this at meal times. He seemed to get just as much food on his face as he did in his mouth.

"Nothing's wrong, Ron. I'm just a little tired," she lied.

"Oh, ok" he answered, paying attention to a new piece of toast.

She leaned over and wiped his face again,- jelly this time.

"Jeez Herms, you're just like my mother!" he said playfully, but this upset Hermione.

Exasperated, she got up and left. Ron sat looking after her, truly bewildered. 

'How can he be so thick?' she thought angrily to herself. 'Can't he see that I really like him? But nooo, I'm like a mother, not like a potential girlfriend.'

Hermione left the Great Hall in a huff. She walked down the hall and with out taking any care of where she was going, she took a left, and then another left again. She looked up to see two people kissing in the hall ahead. Suddenly her jaw dropped.

"Ginny? Dray…? DRACO!?!"

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: YES! I had so much fun with that! So now Hermione knows about them… But you guys'll have to wait till next chappy to see what happens. I suck at cliff hangers, so this is as close as I'll ever get to one.

Again, forgive the shortness of the chapter!

Next one up Soon… er or later. :)!


	9. Hermione

*A/N: Again, long time no update. But times were tough, and also, Fan Fiction has been a little screwing around with me lately.

But HEY! SUMMER TIME! Three weeks of freedom until summer school!

Until then, I'll have nothing better to do than update a whole lot.

Ok, now this chapter goes on a bit of a tangent and is 100% Hermione's POV. 

Enjoy!

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

Chapter Nine: Hermione

Hermione shook her head and turned around in disbelief. She began to run. Ginny separated herself from Draco, who looked absolutely wild. Ginny whispered an apology to him and ran down the hall after Hermione. Halfway to the common room she caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm.

"Hermione," she said, trying to catch her breath, "Hermione, we need to talk."

Hermione sat on the floor with a thud. "For once Ginny, I don't know what to say, I mean,… I suspected a Slytherin maybe, but Malfoy? Of all the people in this school, why him? We all hate him, but you, you…" Hermione couldn't even finish her sentence, she was so furious. Ginny sat on the floor across from Hermione and pleaded with her not to tell anyone.

"Please, Hermione, do me a favor, and keep it a secret for me."

"Of course I can't tell anyone, this is insane. Do you have any idea what people would say? What your brother would say?"

"No Hermione! You especially can't tell Ron! And remember, people won't say anything because people won't find out. Besides, no one really knows him like I do. We've been talking and meeting for the past two weeks and I've really gotten to know him…" Ginny continued to explain and told Hermione everything. As Ginny spoke, Hermione grew calmer. Ginny felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Finally she finished explaining and Hermione spoke.

"Ginny this is going to be really hard on me. This is a huge secret to keep, especially from Ron and Harry, but I will."

"Thank you Hermione, that's all I wanted to hear" said Ginny with a gasp of relief.

"You know that I disapprove of Malfoy," Hermione continued, "but there's not much I can do about this. Just promise me that you'll try to be careful with him, ok? He is still a Malfoy, and definitely still a Slytherin. You can't take too many chances."

"Don't worry about me Hermione. Everything will be just fine, I promise."

Hermione looked unconvinced, but said nothing more of the matter.

**-***-**

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, and Hermione kept the secret. Dinner was over and Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the common room and collapsed into three great armchairs by the fire. The three of them pulled their chairs to face a small table where Harry and Ron played some wizard chess while Hermione watched. Right after Ron's bishop took out Harry's queen, Parvati entered the common room. She glanced at Harry, who excused himself from the game with a smile. Ron nodded with understanding while he put away the chess pieces of the unfinished game. Hermione giggled.

"We should get started on our homework anyway. Professor McGonagall gave us loads of stuff to do," she said.

Reluctantly Ron agreed. They both went up to their rooms to fetch their books, and met again at the table by the fire. For a long time they chatted and joked as they worked together, but toward the end of their Transfiguration homework, Ron mentioned Ginny, and Hermione almost jumped.

"So, have you found out anything new about Ginny's 'Mystery Man' yet?" asked Ron.

Hermione let out a nervous breath of air and dropped her quill.

"Hermione, is everything alright?"

"Yeah,… yeah I'm fine," she answered.

"You know what you need?" said Ron, "You need a break. What do you say we go down to the kitchens for a little snack?"

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "No it's ok Ron. I'm fine, really. We should finish our homework."

"Well, I'm tired of homework, and this will only be a little tiny break. We can just go visit Dobby, have a bite, and then come straight back to work. It'll only take fifteen minutes, at the most."

Finally Hermione agreed, and they sneaked through the portrait hole toward the kitchens. After a few close calls with Filch and Mrs.Norris, they were in. The moment they arrived, dozens of house elves rushed over to greet them, offering them plates of pastry and goblets of milk. Ron was in heaven. They said "Hello" to Dobby and he told them all about his newest clothing purchases and his future plans for the money that he was making. After some time they decided it was time to go. They thanked all of the house elves, bid Dobby Goodbye, and they were off. By the time they reached the common room again, it was deserted.

"Well, I guess everyone went to bed early today," said Ron.

"No, it's actually pretty late," Hermione noted. "We've been gone for over two hours."

"Wow, we took a lot longer than I expected…" Ron said. "But that's no big deal. We haven't got much left to do anyway." He lifted his books and parchment from the table and placed them on the rug, nearer to the fire. "It's a bit chilly," he explained.

Hermione moved her things as well, and for a while they worked in silence. The common room felt so quiet with out its usual noise and activity. After a while Ron decided to say something.

"I wonder if Harry and Parvati are back yet," he said very quietly.

"Probably not," said Hermione with a smile as she flipped through the pages of her Transfiguration book.

"Must be nice…" said Ron with a far-away voice.

"What must be nice?" asked Hermione with curiosity.

"It must be nice for Harry, you know, to have someone like Parvati. Sometimes I…" Ron stopped mid sentence. He looked around the empty common room, as if someone else might be listening. Then he looked at Hermione, and suddenly she grew very alert.

"Sometimes you what?" she asked, watching him closely.

Ron became uneasy, and broke eye contact with her for a moment or two. Then his eyes met hers again, this time with a look of great intensity. His breathing was a bit coarse, and he stuttered, trying to get words to come out of his mouth.

"Hermione, sometimes,… well, I wish… that you and I…" Ron's voice trailed off, and he looked away into the fire, turning slightly pink. Hermione realized what he was trying to say, and her insides burst with joy and a newfound confidence. Very slowly, she inched closer to him, reached out her hand, and pulled his face to hers, locking him firmly in a kiss. When she let go, Ron let out a great breath and sat in awe. Gradually, a smile spread over his face.

"I've been waiting for that for 2 years," he said at long last. Hermione's mind rejoiced as Ron pulled her close and delivered the most spectacular kiss that she had every experienced.

Sadly, it was soon interrupted.

A creak at the portrait hole alerted them to the arrival of Parvati, looking somewhat relieved. They looked at her questioningly but she passed right by them and up to her dormitory without a glance in their direction. Hermione looked at Ron, who shrugged.

"Where's Harry?" he whispered. Moments later his question was answered, as a very upset Harry entered the common room. He came over to them and sat down between them.

"What's up Harry? Why the long face?" asked Hermione.

"Parvati… she broke up with me," he responded angrily.

"What happened?" asked Ron with surprise.

"More like WHO happened," Harry spat. "Apparently she called me out to tell me the news. Some other guy fancies her, and she thought she would give it a go with him. He's a friend of her sister Padma. He's some 'gorgeous' seventh year and head of the Ravenclaw quidditch team. Honestly, Parvati doesn't seem to think I have any feelings at all."

"I tried to warn you -" Ron began to say, but Hermione stopped him. She tried to comfort Harry.

"Parvati may have been a pretty girl, but she was too shallow and silly for you anyway. I think you'd appreciate someone with more substance, who would never run off on you like that." She said quietly.

Harry shook for a bit in his anger and then calmed down. For a while they talked about things with Parvati, and Harry got everything off his chest. He took a deep breath and was in a much better mood. Soon they were even joking around about who Harry might try next.

Ron laughed, "Yeah, you should go for someone who's already mad about you… like Ginny! Right Hermione?"

Hermione looked shocked, and shook her head. "No, I don't think so… I mean…" she searched her mind frantically for an excuse, but none came. Thankfully Harry put in his own opinion on the matter.

"I don't think Ginny is my type. No offense Ron, but it would be strange dating your little sister. Besides, I don't think she has it for me so bad anymore. I get the feeling that she's found someone else…" Harry said.

"You know, Hermione and I were noticing the very same thing. We think she has a new guy, right Hermione?"

Hermione nodded and sat very still. Inside her mind was racing. She had finally gotten Ron, and already she was keeping secrets from him. But she promised Ginny that she wouldn't say a word. Then Harry asked the question that she had been dreading:

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

Luckily, Ron decided to answer. "No, we haven't got a clue at all. I just hope it's not some undeserving jerk or anything. I won't have my sis seeing just anyone," Ron said with a gruff Concerned-Older-Brother voice.

Hermione let out a small "eep" noise, and Ron look over at her. Suddenly he was reminded and he smiled grandly.

"Um, Harry, there's something Hermione and I ought to mention to you," Ron said, and Hermione's worries melted away with happiness. Ron stood up and walked over to her. He sat, put an arm around her, and gave her a huge kiss on the cheek. Harry grinned.

"So the two of you… are together now?" Harry asked with a laugh. "Well it's about TIME!"

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I did! NOW GO REVIEW!

**A/N: I can't wait to get my copy of Order of the Phoenix, I get it this Friday! YAY! I bet no one will read fan fiction for weeks until they all finish the 5th book! I'm so excited, I might piss my pants!!!


	10. Truth

*A/N: Sorry for the long absence of updates.

I decided to wait until after reading OotP to read and update any more fan fiction. Now that I've finally read OotP I feel like I have an empty hole inside from lack of Harry Potter. I can't wait until the next book, but that is such a long way off! Until then, fan fiction shall have to fill the hole!

Well thanks so much for the reviews. I hope you like the chapter! It's EXTRA extra extra long!

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

Chapter Ten: Truth

Excited chatter filled the Great Hall during dinnertime. It was the Friday night before the first Hogsmeade weekend. At Gryffindor table, Ginny listened as everyone discussed their plans for the next day's outing.

Harry Ron and Hermione had decided to first visit Honeydukes. Dean and Seamus would head off for some butter beers with some dates. Colin would check out one of the shops for some more film (he only had 10 rolls left). Ginny had no idea what she would be doing. All she knew was that, somehow, she would find a way to spend the day with Draco. After a second serving of dessert, Ginny set off for bed.

**-***-**

Ginny woke up bright and early the next morning. She was looking forward incredibly to finally being able to spend an entire day with Draco, rather than just meeting briefly between classes. Since the very beginning of the year, the two of them never spent more than an hour in each other's presence. She showered, changed, and went down the stairs, past the common room, out the portrait hole, and to breakfast. She was still running quite early, so she was the first person in the hall. As she sat alone eating her breakfast at Gryffindor table, Draco entered. She smiled at him and called him over to her. He sat next to her.

"Wow, it's really strange to sit at this end of the Great Hall," he said with a laugh. He smiled and kissed her softly. "So, you ready to spend a whole day with me? Or are you sick of me already?"

Ginny shook her head cutely. "What are we doing today?"

"Well, we can't exactly just stroll around Hogsmeade hand in hand. I think we should just stick to the castle. You know, walk around the grounds, maybe a picnic?" he answered with the sweetest smile she'd seen yet.

Ginny nodded happily, she could hardly contain her excitement. "I'll meet you after breakfast then? Muggle section of the library as usual?"

"Definitely," he said. He stole a quick kiss, and then quickly turned around and left briskly. People were starting to enter the hall, so he couldn't stay.

Ginny continued eating her breakfast as the Great hall began to fill with students. Ron and Hermione walked over hand in hand and sat across from Ginny. Harry arrived along shortly after.

Ginny shifted her attention over to Slytherin table. Between Crabbe and Goyle, sat Draco, looking positively gorgeous. He looked up and met her gaze. He smiled grandly, but their gaze was broken as Pansy sat across from Draco, blocking him from Ginny's view. Moments later she left to sit with some other Slytherin girls. Draco looked up at Ginny, with an apologetic look on his face. Ginny watched him as he took a piece of parchment out of his pocket and scribbled something on it. He left the hall for a few minutes and then returned. Ginny looked at him questioningly, and he pointed up into the air. The morning owl post was just coming in. Tons of owls came swooping into the hall and one landed before Ginny with a note. She opened it and her face fell.

In quick and untidy handwriting, it read:

"Ginny, I am so sorry, but I can't spend the day with you today. Pansy just told me about a party back in the Slytherin common room today. They want me to go with Crabbe and Goyle to pick up an order they made for supplies and then head straight back for the party. I hope you understand. We'll try for tomorrow though, ok? -Draco"

Ginny glanced up at Draco, who still looked apologetic. Pansy came again, this time rushing Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle out of the Great Hall. At the door, Draco paused for a moment to look back at her. Ginny nodded in acceptance and then waved her hand telling him to go on. He signaled with his hands for her to smile and she did. Once he left the hall she dropped the smile and donned a scowl.

"What's wrong Ginny?" asked Ron.

"Nothing, my plans for today just fell through. I don't know what I'm doing all day."                                                                                                                  

"Awww, that's a shame," said Harry, "What were you planning to do?"

"Just hang out and spend the day with someone."

"Oh? Who?" asked Ron with sudden interest. Ginny looked to Hermione for help. Hermione's face was blank.

"Well? Who is he Gin?" he asked impatiently. Suddenly Ginny became aware of how deep and serious his voice could be.

"Ron,… I can't tell you," she said, trying to eliminate any traces of fear from her voice.

"What do you mean, Ginny? I'm your big brother, and I think I ought to know who my little sister is seeing! I can't just let you run off with any guy for an entire day with out even knowing who he is!"

"Ron, calm down. He's alright, really!" Ginny said.

"Then tell me who he is" he said, looking at her impatiently. Hermione looked worried.

"I can't," Ginny said very quietly, looking down at her unfinished breakfast.

"Well if we've had enough breakfast, we can get going," said Hermione very quickly to break the tension. She stood from the table, grabbed Ron by the arm and beckoned for Harry to come. She rushed them away from the table. Ginny silently thanked Hermione as they turned and headed out of the hall.

A moment later Colin came and took a seat next to Ginny.

"Why are you sitting here by yourself Ginny? You aren't even eating anything," he said.

"I don't know. I'm just wondering what to do today," she answered.

"Well, if you like you can come to Hogsmeade with me. I need to get some film and stuff. Besides, you and I haven't been able to talk in quite a while. We never sit together in class anymore and for some reason I can never find you between classes!"

Ginny stifled a laugh. Of course she was always missing  between classes… she smirked. She watched him wolf down the rest of his breakfast, and they left the Great Hall.

**-***-**

Draco's arm hurt from the tight grip that Pansy had on him. She seemed determined not to let him go. She led him, Crabbe, and Goyle up to the owlery.

"So why do we have to come to the owlery to get all the stuff?" Draco asked Pansy once they had reached the door.

"It's not just any old 'stuff' Draco. At least not the kind of stuff that can just easily be delivered to us in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast."

Draco gave her a puzzled and questioning look. At that moment five large owls swooped in through one of the large windows. Two of the owls were carrying large packages and the remaining three together bore a large package between them. Pansy walked briskly forward to the two owls, picked up a package, and beckoned for Draco to pick up the other. Crabbe and Goyle together lifted the large package that had been carried by the three owls.

"What's in here?" asked Draco. His package was very heavy, and he could hear a clanking noise coming from inside.

"My package is filled with butterbeers, Crabbe and Goyle's have sweets and things, and yours… yours is the most important."

"What is it then?" asked Draco, with curiosity.

"Firewhiskey, silly. What else?" Pansy said, looking rather excited. Draco grimaced. Pansy was going to be drinking… a lot, and he knew what that meant for him.

They left the owlery and took the long route to their common to avoid being caught with all of these packages. When they arrived they were greeted with cheers and applause. Half a dozen people rushed up to greet them, taking their packages, opening them and placing them on a table toward the back of the room that was already filled with other treats. Draco took a look around the room.

Everyone from fifth year and up was in the common room at that moment. Draco had not been in the room for five minutes when a giggling swarm of girls found and surrounded him. He was lead over to a couch and was made to sit in the center with girls on either side. Pansy, he noticed with surprise, was not among them for she had disappeared upstairs moments before. Draco looked to his left and to his right and had never before seen so many overly made up girls in his life.

"Draco, tell us a joke" said one girl, whose hand was resting on his knee. The other girls nodded in agreement. For a while he humored them, finding that it was much too easy. Every thing he said sent them into fits of laughter and giggles. After half an hour he looked across the room to see Crabbe and Goyle guzzling down drinks with some of their other fifth year friends. Goyle looked at Draco surrounded by the crowd of attentive girls, and sent Draco a thumbs up. Draco nodded and Goyle turned away to empty another bottle. The girls gazed at him breathlessly, asking for another joke.

Normally he wouldn't have minded such attentions, in fact he usually craved attention like this. Yet now that he had it, he was unhappy. He decided it was time to leave these girls behind.

"I'm going to get myself a drink" he said rather coolly. The girls looked at him, blinking and winking at him through long eyelashes. As he made to get up from the couch some one pressed a bottle into his hands.

"Here you go Draco," said some seventh year he'd never met. He looked down at what she had given him, a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Um, no. I'll go get myself a butterbeer." He said coldly, passing the bottle back to her. He got up and left toward the back table. She looked rather upset with herself, and sat down on the over crowded couch. She opened the bottle and drained it in one gulp.

Draco finally reached the table and grabbed himself a butterbeer. He looked to the couch where they were chatting away merrily while waiting for him. When he thought that all eyes were finally off him, he found his way to the staircase and into his dormitory. He smiled, noticing it was nice and empty. He approached his bed and saw that the curtains were drawn shut. He reached to open it and it moved. Someone was sitting on his bed. He backed away and was almost at the door when the curtains burst open. Pansy leapt from his bed and shut the door. She leaned against it barring his escape. She had made herself up and let her hair down, he skirt was barely three inches long. Draco looked at her and did not finding her appearance very appealing at all, instead he found it appalling.

"I've finally got you in one place Draco. I've been waiting here for you for over half an hour." She said in a low voice. She breathed in heavily, trying to inflate her small chest in an enticing way.

"Pansy, look I came up here because I'm not feeling too well," he lied, faking a cough.

"You were fine this morning" she said. "In fact, when I saw first saw you at the Great Hall, you were smiling like a lunatic" She took a step forward and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Pansy, I really have a headache," he said truthfully.

She shook her head and pulled him to her wrapping her arms around him. "You know that's a lie," she breathed into his ear.

He pulled himself from her and, eliminating all attempts at kindness, he said "No."

She turned to face the door as if she was leaving. Instead she locked it. She turned to face him again. She started to advance on him and he stepped backwards away from her. He tripped and landed on his back, on his bed.

"Tell me that you haven't wanted this for years, Draco" she said, smiling disgustingly at his. She pulled him up in to a sitting position and kissed him hard on the mouth.

He couldn't take this. He pushed her roughly away from him and she stumbled a few feet backward. The smile disappeared from her face.

"Draco, I don't understand," she whimpered. She got up and approached him again. "I thought this was what you wanted."

"No, you don't understand Pansy. This isn't what I want at all. Just, go, I have a headache and this really isn't helping."

Tears had started pouring down Pansy's face. She kissed him again and left the room quickly. Draco locked the door behind him with a spell. He threw himself onto his bed.

"How the hell am I going to get out of this place without anything like that happening again?" he said to himself in frustration. He lay there for a while in silence, deciding that he would try to steal out of the room in an hour our two. Pansy no doubt had gone to her dormitory to drown her sorrows with whiskey. He would just have to avoid being seen by the other girls waiting for him.

**-***-**

Colin turned out toe be quite a laugh. By the time they left Hogsmeade and got back to the castle, Ginny's stomach was hurting from all the laughter. They raced up to the common room, landed in two couches and popped open two butterbeers. Ginny was very thirsty and put back her head to drink up.

::Click:: and a flash. Ginny turned to look at Colin who lowered the camera from his eye.

"Sorry Ginny, I just had to take a picture. Your head tipped back like that and your hair all over the place from the run,… It was a really good shot." He smiled. Ginny realized that this was actually the first picture he'd taken all day. Colin took a long drink.

They decided to play a bit of wizard chess. As they played, they chatted about classes, professors, and homework. But after a bit their conversation progressed and they were talking about family, friends, and gossip. Ginny had forgotten how easy Colin was to talk to. The two of them had drifted apart and now she felt they were catching up. After six games of chess (three won by Ginny, and three won by Colin), Colin said, "I don't really feel like playing chess anymore." 

They put away the pieces and started to talk, in a light, not serious tone.

"So Ginny," Colin said very casually, "Do you like anyone?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, but I can't tell you who…"

He looked at curiously but didn't ask anything else. He smiled.

"How about you?" she asked him equally casually.

"I can't say either" he said.

"Why not?" she asked with a smile.

"Nothing, just, too many people around" he said, looking around at everyone in the common room.

"Oh come on Colin, no one is listening!"

He blushed and shook his head. "I can't tell you, Ginny. Not here."

"Not here? Fine then," Ginny said. She got up and pulled him into the empty hall and away from the portrait of the fat lady. "Now can you tell me?"

Colin shook his head vigorously.

"Colin! No one can hear us here, just tell me who you like! We're friends, right?"

"Yeah, but you won't tell me who you like either!"

"Ok Colin, I think I can confide in you. But you have to tell me first, ok?"

He nodded and blushed deeply. "It's you." The words tumbled out of his mouth quickly, and his lips tightened with immediate regret. He stared down at the floor.

"Oh" was all that Ginny could say. 'No wonder he didn't want to tell me. I am such an idiot,' she thought.

Finally he tore his eyes from the floor and looked at her.

"Ginny?" he said quietly. "It's not me, is it?"

She shook her head slightly and started to apologize but he interrupted her.

"It's ok, I kind of knew it anyway. I had a feeling," he said, with a definite look of disappointment in his soft eyes. He was rather good looking and such a sweet, funny, and caring boy. Ginny felt horrible at hurting his feelings. She swept forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. His eyelashes fluttered against the side of her face, and his breathing was coarse. She pulled away and looked at him.

"Colin I'm sorry" she whispered.

"No, no, I'm sorry" he said, and walked away toward the common room. Half way to the portrait he turned around. "You never told me who you liked" he said.

Ginny remained silent. He came back to face her, trying to hide how unhappy he was.

"So who is it?"

"Promise me Colin that you won't tell" she said. He merely nodded.

With a deep breath she said "Draco Malfoy."

Colin stood stunned. "What?" he asked, forgetting entirely that he had been upset moments before. Now he simply looked interested.

"You heard me" she said.

"Tell me everything."

So they sat on the floor in the hall, and she did.

**-***-**

Three hours had passed and Draco had finally managed to get out of his bed and past the common room. He tried three times before that, but every time he poked his head out of the door, someone saw him and made to head his way. But now he was free.

He left the castle and strode out to Hogsmeade. He planned to find Ginny there and take here away so that they could have their day together.

Only he never found Ginny at Hogsmeade. He wandered in and out of every store and shop searching for her, and couldn't find her. He sat in the Three Broomsticks at the very back, feeling quite upset. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered and sat at a table nearby, without noticing that he was there. He was so desperate to find Ginny that he contemplated asking them about where she was. He sat for a while and listened to them talking.

"…Get over it, you've been fussing over it since breakfast!" Harry said.

"I can't Harry! I have a right to know!" Ron said very loudly.

"Ron, Ginny will tell you when she is ready. Obviously you aren't ready yet" said Hermione.

"I'm ready. I'd like to know who she's seeing right now!" Ron bellowed. Draco took this as his cue.

He stood from his table and walked over to them. Ron looked up and him with disgust.

"Do you know where Ginny is?" asked Draco.

Hermione gasped. Harry and Ron looked bewildered.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Ron with violence in his voice.

"Because I'm the one she's been seeing of course!" Draco said, equally threateningly.

"Liar!" yelled Ron, and he stood from the table, knocking a glass to the floor. The Three Broomsticks went quiet.

Hermione took Ron's hand and tried to pull him back into his seat. "Ron, It's true," she said quietly. Ron fell back into his chair.

"Explain." He said to Draco. Draco sat in the chair between him and Harry. This felt odd. He loathed everyone of these three, and yet here he was sitting with them.

He attempted to explain his and Ginny's predicament, leaving out, of course, every mention of kissing. Ron was boiling all the while, while Hermione attempted to calm him.

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit," Ron said through clenched teeth.

"Get used to it Weasley. I love her."

Ron fainted.

**-***-**

Moments later Ron woke up and saw Hermione and Harry staring at him.

"You guys, I had the craziest dream,"

"No you didn't" said Draco from his right.

Ron fainted again.

**-***-**

Ron awoke again and accepted the truth. But he wasn't happy about it by any means.

"I'll accept what Ginny chooses, but I don't like it!" Ron hissed.

"I know" Draco replied.

"You know I disapprove, you don't deserve her, and that I hate you."

"I get it, ok? None of you like me, and I don't like you either. But what matters is what's between me and Ginny."

Ron sighed and simply said "Agreed. But if you ever hurt her feelings, I'll kill you."

Draco nodded. They shook hands, gripping each others' hands very tightly.

"So do you know where she is?"

The three of them shook their heads.

"Well I guess I'll be on my way then" he said, getting up from the table. He left the Three Broomsticks feeling that that whole meeting was absolutely pointless. He told them everything and yet still did not know where Ginny was. He headed back to Hogwarts, it was time for lunch anyway.

**-***-**

Ginny had finished telling Colin everything. Now they sat in the Great Hall eating lunch, still talking about Draco.

"Wow, that's wild. Gryffindor and Slytherin?" Colin said. He seemed to have gotten completely over his heartbreak. Now Colin simply sat in awe.

"Yeah, I know. No one knows yet, just Hermione. I like being able to talk to you about this, thanks Colin for understanding."

"No problem, it's just a little bizarre," he said with a laugh. "But seriously Gin, be careful with him ok?"

"You know, Hermione said the exact same thing" she answered. "But I honestly don't think there is anything to worry about."

**-***-**

At that moment Draco came into the hall, still slightly upset. He glanced to Gryffindor table and saw Ginny talking animatedly with the elder Creevy brother.

Draco looked on with a tinge of jealousy. He got up and decided that it was time to forget about keeping it a secret. He marched over to Gryffindor table to have a word with Ginny. He reached the table, and she looked up at him, delighted to see him. He smiled. Everyone at Slytherin table was brought to attention, glaring, confused as Draco spoke to Ginny.

"Ginny, can we talk?" he asked her.

"Sure, excuse me Colin," she said. Colin nodded.

"No, I mean right here." Draco said.

"Here? In the middle of the Great Hall?" she asked, puzzled.

"Yes, here, because I am sick of hiding this. I don't care anymore," he said.

Ginny smiled and pulled him down to sit next to her. He kissed her.

Suddenly, the Slytherin table erupted into absolute chaos.

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: Finally, I gave birth to another chappy. Be happy you guys. That took a lot of effort there. It reeaaalllly did.

REVIEW!


	11. Alienation

*A/N: You thought I forgot about fan fiction, didn't you?

I admit, I've neglected fan fiction, and neglected this fic.

I can't promise you anything incredible, but I will try to finish it as soon as possible so I don't leave the end lingering any longer.

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

Chapter Eleven: Alienation

An outburst of sound filled the Great Hall as Draco and Ginny parted lips. Gasps and yells of surprise came not only from Slytherin table, but from every other table as well. Some students whispered their shock to one another while others simply stood up and voiced their bad opinions directly and openly. Anyone who had not seen what had happened quickly found out within seconds.

Shortly Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall looking very cross.

"What on Earth is all the commotion about?" she yelled over all of the noise. The Great Hall grew silent. Everyone's gaze was fixed on McGonagall face as her eyes searched the room for the source of all the outrage. Her severe eyes softened as soon as she found it. Draco and Ginny sat side by side at Gryffindor table, fingers laced, watching her intently. McGonagall merely smiled and turned on her heels, and quickly left as if in search of someone. When she was gone again, the hall was at once filled with angry, curious, and confused whispers.

Ginny was met with hundred of evil stares from Slytherin table, while Draco was met with much of the same from everyone. He decided it was time to go.

"Come on, let's get out of here Ginny," he said in a rough voice.

His eyes passed over the room returning everyone's hateful stares. Ginny nodded in silent agreement.

As they stood from the table, Colin very quietly said "Bye Ginny, good luck… and to you too Malfoy."

Draco nodded with appreciation.

Everyone's eyes followed their movements as they left. They turned out of the Great Hall, both feeling relieved to have gotten out of there. But as soon as had they walked a few paces more, they found themselves face to face with Pansy Parkinson, with Crabbe and Goyle standing behind her. Draco stared from one to the other, and realized how menacing they looked from this point of view.

"Well Draco," Pansy said. "You broke up with me for this?" Her eye traveled from his face to Ginny's with great disgust.

"Pansy, you and I were never together to begin with," he said as he tried to pass around them. Crabbe and Goyle moved aside barring his way.

"What do you two think you are doing?" Draco asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Crabbe and Goyle looked confusedly at each other, trying to remember. Pansy let out a sigh of exasperation and whispered something to Crabbe.

"You're destroying the Slytherin name and so we've come to stop you," Crabbe said, in an obvious repetition of what Pansy had just whispered into his ear.

"Exactly." Pansy agreed with satisfaction. "Draco, you must realize what you are doing! Why would you want a stupid little thing like her anyway?"

Ginny stepped forward furiously and stood dangerously close to Pansy, her hair seeming fierier than ever. "Say that again Pansy, I dare you."

Pansy glared at Ginny; her hand was in pocket, no doubt fondling her wand. "Say what, Weasley? That you are a stupid, ugly, little, second rate---"

Draco interrupted, pulling his wand out quickly and pointing it directly between Pansy's eyes.

 "Just…let…us…pass." Draco hissed slowly and angrily.

Pansy scowled and moved aside, beckoning for Crabbe and Goyle to follow suit. Draco took Ginny's hand and they walked to the massive doors leading out onto the grounds. As he reached the doors, he heard Pansy behind him saying calmly to Crabbe and Goyle, "Just wait until his father hears about this."

Draco winced and he pulled Ginny outside. It was raining hard, and so the two of them ran for cover. Draco pulled Ginny under a tree where they sat sheltered from the downpour. Both of them were soaking wet.

"She's going to tell my father," he said, looking sickly pale.

"What?" said Ginny, looking worriedly at him.

"Pansy, she's going to tell my father about us."

"So?"

"So? You don't understand Ginny. This is trouble, for me and for you."

"What's he going to do about it?"

"I don't know…" Draco said, looking as if he were about to pass out.

"Draco, calm down, please. There's nothing we can do now except to let it come," she said soothingly. She drew him close to her and softly placed a kiss on his wet forehead. He nodded, his head resting on her chest, and was calmed by the slow motion of her breathing. He would have fallen asleep there, peacefully listening to her heartbeat, had it not been for a sudden crack of thunder. Draco sat up with a jolt. He looked at Ginny and noticed that she was shivering.

"Cold?" He asked her. She nodded. "Maybe we should go to the Three Broomsticks and get some butterbeers to warm ourselves up." he said, with a weak smile. Again Ginny nodded. They both pulled their robes up over their heads and ran out from under the tree into the rain and off toward Hogsmeade.

**-***-**

They arrived at the Three Broomsticks and decided to go in separately to avoid anymore unwanted attention. They separately ordered their butterbeers and met again at a table in the privacy of the back. Not too long afterward their drinks arrived in the hands of Madame Rosmerta.

"Well, this is a shocker! You must be a Weasley, considering that great red hair, and you are none other than Lucius Malfoy's boy! I'm surprised, I thought your families hated each other!" Madame Rosmerta said in an excited whisper.

"They do," Draco said, and Ginny nodded in agreement.

"But the two of you?  You're together?"

Again they nodded.

"Well, I'm glad to see it. I wish you both the best of luck," Rosmerta replied with a wink and a smile. She handed them their butterbeers, which they paid for with a grateful tip. They drank them down and were immediately warmed from the inside out.

They left the Three Broomsticks and ran back out into the rain, having forgotten all about their troubles.

They headed off toward Honeydukes, and when they entered the doorway at once eyes flickered from Draco's face, to Ginny's face, to their hands linked together. Again they were met with whispers and stares, just like those in the Great Hall.

Draco grew tense with annoyance. He grabbed a handful of sweets in each hand, put them in a bag, paid for them, and left as quickly as he could with Ginny by his side.

"How about we go somewhere a bit more private?" Ginny said as they walked back out into the rain. Draco nodded vigorously.

**-***-**

She led him back to the Hogwarts grounds, and back under the very same tree that they had been under less than an hour before. After a long time they were dry again, and enjoying the candy Draco had bought at Honeydukes.

"Perfect. Everyone is either at Hogsmeade or inside the castle because of the rain," Ginny said. Draco nodded, and smiled at her.

 "Draco?" Ginny said softly.

"Yes Ginny?"

"Thank you… for putting up with all of this for me. I know it isn't easy for you, being in Slytherin."

"No Ginny, it's alright. But I can just imagine what it will be like when I go back to the common room. They've probably all disowned me and as soon as my father finds out, so will he."

"I'm sorry Draco,"

"Don't be Ginny. I knew this would happen, I just didn't know when. But Ginny, you are just so different from any of the other girls I've been with. You actually care about me. It's not like everyone else; they all hang around me because of the power and respect I get from people. It's all because of my father. But you, you probably hate my father, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," said Ginny.

"So do I. Another thing we have in common."

"But you always talk about your father!"

"Yes, but only to put someone back in line. Whenever people doubt me, or anything I say, all I have to do is mention my father, and they cower. It's a way of getting respect. But just because I always do that doesn't mean that I like him." He said thoughtfully.

"Why don't you like your own father?" Ginny asked.

"Because he's not really a father. To him, I'm not his son; I'm just the one that will follow in his footsteps. And to me he's not my father; he's just my disciplinarian. I hate him for that."

"And what about your mother?" Ginny asked.

"My mother? She's nice, I suppose. She's like my father, but not half as strict. But she also has a lot of expectations for me that I don't necessarily want. Sometimes I would just like to have been a normal person who makes friends and enemies the normal way."

"You mean, you'd prefer to be a muggle?"

"No! Not at all! I'd just prefer to be a regular wizard," Draco said, laughing.

Instead of just being automatically sorted because you're a Malfoy?" Ginny said, understanding.

"Exactly. Sometimes I wish I were like you. No one would classify me, or jump to assumptions because of my name," Draco said enviously.

"It's not really like that Draco. People classify us too. You yourself have, in fact," said Ginny, lowering her head at the memory.

"What? When?"

"You don't remember? 'Filthy Weasleys with their hand-me-down robes'…?" she said, with a somewhat hurt voice.

"Oh" he said rather stupidly.

"Anyway," Ginny said, "it doesn't matter anymore. Things were different back then."

And with that, she kissed Draco, and they forgot again all that bothered them.

**-***-**

Hours passed under that tree and soon it was time for dinner. The rain had settled down, and it was now only a light shower. They headed rather reluctantly back to the Great Hall, knowing they would be met with scowls and stares once again.

Sure enough, a hush came over the hall as soon as they entered. Then came the stares, the pointing, and the whispers. They separated and sat each at their own House tables. Ginny sat at Gryffindor table between Collin and Hermione with out problem.

Draco approached Slytherin table, head held high in an attempt to maintain his usual demeanor. He walked past his usual crowd of Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy, and strode over to an empty seat near a group of 5th years. As he came near, someone shoved past him and sat quickly, filling the seat. He kept moving, and saw another empty seat in the middle of a group of 1st years and when he went to sit there they stared coldly at him, claiming that the seat was taken. Draco stood, head raised with an upset look on his face, scanning the table for a place to sit. Finally he was forced to sit at the very end of the table, by himself. He ate as quickly as he could and left.

Ginny's eyes followed him as he left the hall. She finished up her dinner, and excused herself. She rose, and left the hall, turning in the same direction as Draco had. Behind her, a group of Slytherins had also left their seats, and quietly followed her out of the hall.

Ginny saw Draco walking a short distance ahead of her and called out his name in as low a voice as she could. He turned around and his grimace turned to a smile when he saw her. He walked back and came to where she was standing, when his smile was soon lost again as he saw the Slytherin group slinking behind her. He motioned for her to look behind her, and she did. All at once, both Draco and Ginny started running.

At the lead of the growing Slytherin crowd was, of course, Pansy. She raised her wand and uttered a long stream of curses pointed in their direction. One curse caught Ginny straight in the back, and she fell, convulsing on the floor. Draco stooped down and held Ginny, trying to remember the counter curse. Pansy stopped flinging curses about and the crowd slowly and menacingly advanced on their two victims sitting on the floor. Ginny was growing pale when Draco finally murmured the counter curse and stopped her convulsing. They sat, white and frozen on the floor, awaiting what would happen next.

Pansy raised her wand again, her eyes vicious with malevolence. She thought for a moment and chose her hex, opening her mouth wide in preparation…

**-***-**

Professor Blue and Snape entered the hall that very moment, talking hushed about something with faraway looks in their eyes when Snape caught sight of the situation.

"What do you think you are doing?!" He demanded of the group of angry Slytherins. He looked at Pansy's fierce eyes and steady hand, pointing her wand at two students on the floor.

"Take care of the rest of them, Professor Bluebottle, I'll attend to these two," said Snape.

Snape knelt down to the two figures, a boy of white blonde hair leaning over a girl with hair of intense red. Draco lifted his face, and looked pleadingly into Professor Snape's eyes. Snape looked at him and then at Ginny in surprise. He helped the two of them to their feet.

In the background, Professor Blue was scolding the Slytherins and taking ten points from each, and 50 from Pansy.

Professor Snape whispered a few things to Professor Blue, and then led Draco and Ginny away. They walked on for a while in silence, but soon the two realized where they were going.

Snape was about to lead them up the hidden staircase and into Dumbledore's office.

~**-***-**-***-**-***-**~

*A/N: It's been a while, I know. Forgive me.

For some reason Fan Fiction has been saying that I have an extra chapter. Well, this is Chapter 11 now, I haven't had an 11th chapter at all before.

Alright, so there you go!

After 8 MONTHS, I have a new chapter!


	12. It Continues

A/N: Hello again! This chapter is a little boring and short if you ask me, but read it, because I took the love and care to finally update again!

------

Chapter Twelve: It Continues

"I've heard a great deal about what's been happening with the two of you" Dumbledore said, smiling at the Ginny and Draco as they entered the room.

"You have?" Ginny asked, confused. "This has been a secret up until just today."

"Yes, Ms. Weasley, but you forget that Ms. Granger found out some time ago. Being the concerned and friend that Hermione is, she, of course, came to me to tell me about the situation. She felt that you needed a little 'watching out for,' that's all" Dumbledore replied.

"I knew she would do something like this. She thought that Draco was up to no good," Ginny said, seeming annoyed.

"Don't be upset with her, she was only worried for your welfare. In fact, she was worried for the both of you. She anticipated that something like this would happen. Everyone would find out and come after you both in anger. Really, she did the right thing."

Draco and Ginny nodded somewhat in agreement.

"So why are we here?" Draco asked, looking about the office. "Are we going to do anything? I mean, how can we be sure that we won't be attacked again?"

"That is precisely why we are here," Professor Snape said. "You mustn't walk about so freely as this, flaunting your little 'relationship.' Mr. Malfoy, are you not aware of the fact that your father has been informed of this?"

"...I was aware of that," Draco said with a grimace, "Pansy told him. She's such a jealous and possessive person. She was furious."

"What's he going to do to me?" Ginny asked in a faint, almost unnoticeable voice.

"You mean, what's he going to do to us?" Draco corrected.

"Well, we certainly can't supervise you all of the time," Dumbledore said, "but I can make an effort to discuss the matter with your father, but this doesn't mean you won't have to face him eventually. As for the students, all I can do is make an announcement to the school that you and Ms. Weasley are not to be harmed, under great consequence."

"So what now? Do we go back to our own houses?" Draco asked, bothered by the situation, " If I go back to Slytherin, I'll be massacred!"

"And even though I know I'd be safe in Gryffindor, I wouldn't even make it all the way there without getting jinxed or hexed or worse."

"Considering what happened today, you are both quite right. I heard the uproar that occurred today in the Great Hall all the way from my office. And with what happened in the hallway just a few moments ago, I am certain you cannot return to your houses tonight. There is no choice but for you to stay under the care of some professor or another. Professor Snape, would you watch over Mr. Malfoy for tonight? And could you summon Professor Blue to watch Ms. Weasley? I think that would be best, considering the circumstances. Perhaps you and Professor Bluebottle could share with Draco and Ginny a bit of advice?"

Snape hesitated, looking at Draco and Ginny, and looked at their hands, which were clenched tightly together. His face eased, and he nodded in agreement.

"I'll go fetch her now." 

--

In a few moments, Professor Snape returned with Professor Bluebottle. Everyone bid Dumbledore goodbye, and soon Blue signaled Ginny to follow her out to her office, while Snape led Draco to his.

Ginny followed Professor Blue down the hidden staircase, and a little while away to Professor Blue's office.

"Professor," Ginny quietly said, "Dumbledore said something curious earlier in the office, before you came. I wanted to ask you about it."

"What did he say?" asked Professor Blue as she opened the door and motioned Ginny to enter.  
"Something about you and Snape offering Draco and me some advice...considering the circumstances? I don't remember. What did he mean by that?" Ginny asked shyly.

"Oh of course. Well surely Ginny, you must have noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"How differently Professor Snape has been behaving as of late?"

"Well he's been nicer… very slightly nicer, I guess. Why is that?"

"It's most likely because Professor Snape has been somewhat distracted--Oh, have a seat Ginny dear, you'll be sleeping right over here--Severus and I are in a sort of... situation, if you will, similar to yours and Mr. Malfoy's."

Ginny stared at Blue as if to ask if she were serious. "You mean you and Snape... are involved? Together? In a relationship?"

"Well, yes," Blue answered, taken aback, "and don't look at me that way, Severus is really very different once you get to know him. Quite nice, and a bit funny I might add."

"I can't believe this."

"Apparently that's what a lot of people are saying about you and Mr. Malfoy," responded Blue with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"I guess you are right. You know, before all of this, I would never have thought either Draco or Snape could have been seen as anything but vicious and hateful. I suppose I just didn't see all sides of their situations."

"Exactly. Well Ginny, my advice for you is this. First, no more shows like earlier today. You don't want to rile everyone up again. Second, regardless of what anyone says, you are the only one who can decide whom you do and do not want to be with. I certainly have heard a mouthful from some of the other professors about my choice in Severus, but that's not what is important. Only the way I feel is of any value."

Ginny nodded and Blue smiled at her.

"Professor? One last question," Ginny added.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the contest? About your name, and the colors? You were supposed to announce the winners today."

"Oh, well Hufflepuff won it, but I'll have to announce it at breakfast tomorrow because I was a bit busy this morning."

"Hufflepuff? I'm so glad that they finally won something nice. But what were you busy with? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

"I had to meet someone."

"Snape?"

"Professor Snape. Yes... Well, Severus requested a private meeting with me early today."

"Ohhh…I won't ask anything else," Ginny laughed.

--

Snape and Draco entered Snape's office, and immediately Draco flopped himself onto a chair and let out a huge sigh.

"Professor Snape, how do you manage to keep your thing with Professor Bluebottle so quiet? I've only been seeing Ginny for a short time now, but it's turned into this huge deal that nearly got us both killed already."

"My thing? With Professor Bluebottle? I don't know what you are talking about."

"Come on. Don't try to hide it. I've seen the way you look at her. The way you sneak around corners and get nervous when students see you talking together. There's obviously something going on."

"Well Malfoy, you are right, yes. Professor Bluebottle and myself are together, at the moment, yes… But remember Mr. Malfoy, that I didn't cause a dramatic show about it as you did today in front of the entire school."

"I guess you are right," Draco replied pensively. "So how long has this thing with Bluebottle been going on for?"

"First of all, stop referring to it as a 'thing,' it is a relationship. Secondly, we have only been together for a short amount of time."

"Since the beginning of this year?"

Snape nodded and smiled at the thought. When he snapped out of the moment, he said to Draco "That's enough for now. It's time you got to bed."

"But it's so early!"

"To bed Malfoy."

"Yes Sir!"

--

Draco woke in the morning with a stiff pain in his neck and back. He sat up from the couch he had slept on, and cracked his back and his fingers and stood up. He hadn't expected to be sleeping away from his dormitory, so he was still wearing his robes from the day before. He looked at his slightly wrinkled and disheveled appearance in the mirror, took out his wand, muttered a few words, and found himself standing, handsomely groomed and pressed as usual. He turned on his heels and Professor Snape entered the room, with Professor Bluebottle and Ginny standing behind him. Ginny and Draco smiled at one another but didn't say a word.

"So are we ready to head to the hall for breakfast?" Professor Blue asked very kindly.

Draco nodded as he and Ginny followed the two professors to the hall.

"Don't worry for now, Dumbledore has already made the announcement to everyone about the penalty for threatening, harassing, or harming fellow students," Professor Blue said as they walked.

"But remember, you aren't to cause another show. You'll be sitting with your own houses today. If you want to see each other, at least do so in private." Snape added.

As they finally reached the hall, Ginny and Draco agreed to meet later in the library, and then entered to sit and eat.

Blue and Snape did not enter the hall, instead, they passed it entirely, and turned around a corner. Ginny noticed for the first time how closely Snape and Blue walked together, and she smiled.

As she passed by the Hufflepuff table, she noticed that they were unusually happy this morning. Professor Blue must have told them the news.

Ginny sat in her usual place between Collin and Hermione, and began to eat her french toast.

"Ginny, where were you last night? You didn't return to the common room, we waited for you until very late," said Hermione with concern.

So Ginny explained to Collin, Hermione, Ron, and Harry about what had happened the day before.

Draco, however, again had a difficult time finding a place to sit. When he finally sat and nibbled on his bacon, he noticed from the corner of his eye that many of the people at his table were looking at him severely, and he sensed whispering all around him.

He thought to himself, 'Now I know how Harry feels a lot of the time.'

He finished off his small meal and left as soon as he had finished.

The day continued uneventfully.

Draco met again with Ginny in private, they separated for lunch, met again, and separated for dinner. At each mealtime, Draco again found himself alone and in need of a place to sit. But soon the day was over and they retired to sleep. Zthe next day they would be in class again, a prospect that Draco dreaded immensely.

--

The morning had passed leaving Draco quite lonely until potions, when to his surprise Harry Potter offered to share a table and work with him.

"You see," Harry said, "Ron and Hermione are working together on their potion, and since you don't have a partner, I thought you wouldn't mind working with me."

Draco merely nodded, and they worked quietly side by side. Draco felt a strange appreciation for Harry for relieving him of his loneliness, and he resolved to be more polite and friendly with him from then on. Mid way through class, their peaceful cooperation was interrupted, as Draco's father burst through the door and demanded to see Draco at once.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Malfoy, we are in the middle of a class and you'll upset our very delicate work," Professor Bluebottle harshly whispered.

"What? Who are you? Where is Professor Snape, the potions teacher?" asked Lucius Malfoy.

"I am the potions teacher, Professor Bluebottle, Professor Snape is now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Now please lower your voice. If you have to speak with your son, wait until the end of class."

"Listen, I must speak to my son this very instant and I will not have it otherwise."

"I'm afraid if you want to do that, you'll have to take the matter up to the headmaster. Thank you, Mr. Malfoy and goodbye," and with that, Professor Blue lightly but firmly pushed a very aggravated Mr. Malfoy out of the door, and closed it behind him.

"Well what are you all looking at?" she asked the class "Get back to tending your potions." 

------

A/N: Two months and I've updated. I'd say I'm getting a little bit better, don't you?

Don't worry children, for the finale is drawing near.


	13. Confrontation

**A/N:** Ive missed fan fiction so much.

Thanks everyone so much for reviewing!

I know its a bit short, but heres the new chapter :)!

* * *

**Chapter 13:** Confrontation

As soon as Potions class had ended, Draco stood and began hurriedly packing his belongings. To Harry, Ron, and Hermiones surprise, he bid them all a very pleasant goodbye, practically hugged Professor Bluebottle (leaving her very pleased with herself), and flew out the side door and down the corridor. Draco ran as fast as he could to his next class, Transfiguration. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he crashed into his seat. Professor McGonagall looked surprised to see him already--her last class was still gathering their things and preparing to leave. Draco took some time to catch his breath and then took out his books for class.

He felt as though he had just avoided a catastrophe.

The rest of the class came in a few minutes later and took their seats. Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room and began a long lecture. As Draco settled into his notes, a polite knock was heard at the door. Draco pinched his eyes shut and hoped that it wasnt who he thought it was. Then he heard his name.

"Draco Malfoy," called Dumbledores voice from the door, "Could you please come with me?

Your father is waiting for you in my office. He...requests a word with you."

Draco winced and stood, slowly picking up his things once again, and followed Dumbledore outside and toward his office. He could feel his throat grow drier by the moment and his footsteps sounded incredibly loud in the deserted hallway. Hed never felt so afraid in his life--it was the kind of fear that only his father could inspire.

After what seemed like hours of walking, they finally stepped onto the hidden, swirling staircase that lead to Dumbledores office. As they approached the door, Dumbledore very calmly and coolly offered Draco a few words of comfort.

"The initial hysteria that your father had upon coming here has not yet worn off, Mr. Malfoy, but you must face him and be brave about it. Im sure everything will work out in the end."

When they had reached the top, he added, "You go in first alone. He wants to speak with you in private. I will be right outside, waiting."

He pushed open the door and motioned for Draco to pass through, when to their surprise they found the office empty, with Lucius Malfoy nowhere in sight.

A feeling of sickness ate at Dracos stomach. He immediately turned on his heels and ran leaving Dumbledore slightly bewildered. But soon Dumbledore understood, and leaving Draco to deal with his father, he entered his office, closing the door behind him.

As the end of class approached, Ginny felt herself looking forward to lunch, when she would meet with Draco again. She wandered off into her own thoughts, helped along by the thick air full with the incense that was constantly burning during Divination.

It had only been a few months since that day when she had bumped into Draco at Diagon Alley and first glimpsed that other side of him. It had been even shorter a time since she and Draco first kissed. The school year was still near the beginning and already everyone knew about them. But at this particular moment, it felt like a century since the last time she had seen him. She fell into a daydream-- she imagined herself running down the steps, bursting through the door of an empty classroom, and flinging herself straight at Draco. A grin spread across her face as she thought of it.

Ginny became so absorbed in these fancies that eventually she fell into a dream-filled sleep. Soon the class had ended, everyone had left, and the professor was tapping her sharply on the shoulder. She awoke, confused and embarrassed.

"Oh my…Im so sorry. It wont happen again—I promise!"

"I should hope so."

Ginny nodded, apologized a few more times, and left as quickly as she could, fearing that she would be late to her charms class. She climbed down the staircase from the Divination classroom and sped off toward her class when, of course, she crashed headlong into someone and fell to the floor, spilling the entire contents of her bag. She stammered many incoherent apologies as she picked up her papers and sloppily shoved them into her bag.

Why? Why must this always happen to me? I should really watch where I am going, she thought silently to herself.

"You should really watch where you are going," said a cold voice, as though reading her mind.

She looked slowly up at this dark figure looming over her and to her horror saw Lucius Malfoy standing haughtily before her.

"Weasley, I have been looking for you," he spoke down to her.

"Oh have you, Mr. Malfoy? Whatever for?" She asked with feigned innocence. She stood upright with more courage than she had and looked him directly in the eye.

"Why are you seeing my son?" he demanded, getting directly to the point.

"What does it matter to you?" she said, dropping all pretenses of politeness.

"Dont play smart with me, girl" he said, his voice rising in obvious aggravation. "Tell me. Why are you seeing my son when it is obviously against my wishes?"

"Again. Why does it matter to you?"

"Listen, I havent got time for this nonsense. You will stay away from Draco and that is final."

"There is no way that you can make me."

"Oh isnt there?" he replied with an icy grin.

"Was that a threat?" asked Ginny, her face stern and unflinching.

Lucius Malfoy stepped toward her, and was now standing so close that she could see her reflection in his tiny, glittering pupils. Sparks seemed to fly from his eyes, ready to burn her through, but Ginny held her ground.

With out blinking even once, Ginny said through gritted teeth, "Back away Mr. Malfoy."

Draco continued to run down the hall, frantically trying to remember Ginnys schedule.

Where is she? Where is she? he thought. He searched his mind and found it at last: Divination.

So he climbed upward toward the Divination Tower and when he was almost there he heard a shrill yell "No!" and a thud on the floor. His heart sank as he thought of Ginny lying on the floor, her limbs limp, her hair fanned out on the ground, and her face… he hoped that he was wrong as he turned the corner, and there he saw her…

She was standing, fiery haired and huffing, looking down at an unconscious Lucius Malfoy. She placed her wand gently into her pocket. Draco slowed down his pace at first, and then stopped all together at the sight of his father sprawled on the stone floor. He froze in shock that someone so small and seemingly weak as his Ginny had managed to take out someone so intimidating and powerful as his father, Lucius Malfoy.

He rested his hands on his knees and continued to stare for a moment as he caught his breath. Finally he stood and approached Ginny again. Slowly and quietly, he asked her, "What happened?"

"I dont know really. I was running late for class and I ran right into him. So he started to yell at me and threaten me, so I just held my ground. He stepped toward me, and I suppose he expected me to step away or to be scared or something, I dont know, but he certainly didnt expect me to pull out my wand and curse him. I guess I just took him by a bit of surprise."

"Usually no one stands up to him."

"By the way he was acting, I can tell. He seems used to getting exactly what he wants."

Draco blushed. He himself was exactly the same as his father in that respect. Once he had decided what he wanted, no one could tell him otherwise.

"Well, Ginevra Weasley, It must have been a pretty powerful curse to knock him unconscious like this for so long."

"I was a bit mad, and he was just too close for comfort. I was so upset that I practically screamed the curse."

"So thats what I heard. You screamed and he fell. I was afraid that you were in trouble," Draco said.

Ginny smiled beautifully, but very briefly. "Hes stirring," she said. "Hell probably be awake any minute now. What should we do?"

Draco looked thoughtfully at his father lying on the floor. Lucius Malfoys lips twitched, and he let out a groan.

"Ginny, go to your class. I guess its time for me to finally face him. Ill meet you again before lunch in the library."

"All right, but if anything happens and you cant make it, try to send me an owl," she replied, with a quick and uncertain glance at his father.

"You arent worried, are you, Gin?" Draco said with a sly smile.

"You should at least take his wand away from him, so he cant curse you when he wakes up or anything."

Draco nodded in agreement. He knelt down by his father and drew out his wand from something similar to a sword sheath on his belt. He stood up and put the wand in his own pocket. He watched as Luciuss fingers began to wiggle slightly. He turned to Ginny and smiled.

"You know Ginny, Youve been getting me into a lot of trouble."

"Oh, and you think everythings been the same with me?" she retorted. What that she pulled Draco into a grand kiss. Behind them, Lucius Malfoy let out a huge groan. He was still lying flat on his back, but his had had flickered open, and his hand was fumbling around weakly in his robes for his wand.

"I think youd better get going, Ginny," Draco warned.

"You dont need to tell me again."

Ginny kissed Draco on the cheek and jogged off down the hall. She turned her head once to see Draco lean down toward his father, but his eyes were still on her. She sped to a full run, realizing that she was already very late to her Charms class.

Draco watched as Ginny turned the corner and listened as she thudded down the stairs. He waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps, and when finally, he was sure that she was far away enough, he revived his father.

"Ennervate," he muttered.

His father lifted his head. He was dazed, yet recovered quickly. He sat up abruptly, his face forming a scowl worse than Draco had ever seen.

"Draco Malfoy, just what do you think you are doing?" he demanded. Draco did not like the quiet tone of his fathers voice. Draco only stared at him. Lucius stood up.

"Well? Why dont you answer me? Am I not your father?" he continued menacingly. Draco looked at the floor.

"Yes father."

"Yes, I am. So obey when I tell you to quit this foolishness at once. You are not to see that Weasley girl anymore."

"But—"

"Dont speak. That girl humiliated me today and I will not have it happen again. I wont tolerate it."

"Father, I—"

"That is quite enough, Draco," Lucius Malfoy snapped violently at his son. "I will escort you to your class now."

"Yes father," Draco replied in barely more than a whisper. He could almost feel tears in his eyes. Why couldnt he stand up for himself? Why was he so afraid of his father? His girlfriend had even managed to knock him out, but he, Draco Malfoy, was powerless against him. He remained quiet and followed his father to his next class, with his head hung low.

"After I leave you at your class, I will speak to Professor Snape about this matter" continued his father, "and he, no doubt, will keep a watchful eye over you for me to make sure that you are doing as I say."

Draco nearly jumped for joy at these last words, but he maintained his mournful appearance and mumbled again, "Yes father."

But in his mind, Draco was rejoicing. As he followed Lucius down the stairs, he though to himself, Snape will understand. Hell play along for father, tell him that he will make sure I dont speak with Ginny at all, and then everything will be fine…I hope."

* * *

**A/N:** Review!

Oh! And something of importance:

I cant wait for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to come out!

Im so excited—Im seeing it June 4th when it comes out, right after school. I can barely contain myself!!


	14. The Break

**A/N:** A hearty thanks to everyone and anyone who reviewed :)

This chapter is a bit short, I think, but another one is on the way soon.

* * *

**Chapter 14:** The "Break"

Lunchtime was around the corner and Draco sat calmly in the library waiting for Ginny. He was quite earlier than they had agreed upon, and so he considered going to see Professor Snape to see how things went with his father. Draco walked as quickly as he could without attracting attention, and headed down to see Snape. He found him seated at his desk, grading an essay on the magical properties of eel scales. He walked briskly over to him and in a hushed voice, inquired about his father's visit.

"So how did it go?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Malfoy?"

"My father came to talk to you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. He took me quite by surprise."

"Well?"

"So are you going to help us?"

"Do you mean, am I going to keep secrets from your father about yourself and Ms. Weasley?"

Draco nodded expectantly.

"I don't know anything about you and Ms. Weasley, and I don't care to hear anything about it. As long as I don't see anything, I can't report anything. Isn't that right, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco smiled appreciatively, took Professor Snape's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Good bye Professor!"

-----

Draco rushed back to the library, an idea blossoming in his mind. As he reached the muggle section, he spotted Ginny, seated alone with an open book She appeared to be reading intently, yet her eyes, which failed to move across the page, betrayed her. He pulled a book off the shelf, opened it to a random page, and sat a few seats down from her.

"Ginny," he whispered.

"Yes?" she answered, not moving her eyes from their spot on the page.

"We need to talk."

"We are talking already."

"No, that's not what I mean… Look, just follow me, ok? But not too closely."

Ginny nodded, looking a bit confused, but she followed, nonetheless, a few paces behind him. Finally, after a few stairs and corridors, Draco opened the door to a room, looked cautiously inside, and entered it. Ginny closed the door behind them.

"So? What did you want to talk to me about?"

"My father. He forbids me from seeing you."

"Yeah? You aren't going to listen to him though, are you?"

"Of course not. Let me finish. Ginny he went and spoke to Snape. He told him to watch us and notify him if he sees us still together or anything like that."

"Yeah but Snape is on our side! He wouldn't tell—"

"Ginny, listen! I'm not done. I went to talk to Snape just a little while ago, and no, he won't snitch on us. He says as long as he doesn't see anything, he won't report anything to my father."

"Alright, well we'll just keep a low profile then."

"No, we'll do more than that, Ginny. We're going to break up."

"What??"

"No, I don't mean really break up! We're going to stage a break up. A loud and great fight, in the Great Hall."

"Oh, I see," Ginny said, a smile dawning on her lips. "So when will this 'break' take place?"

"In about…10 minutes. Promise me, that whatever I say, you won't be offended? I won't mean any of it. Just play along."

"Alright..."

"Agreed. Now I think it'll be best if you enter first as normally possible. I'll come in a little later. Whatever I say, just play along."

"Okay."

"I'll meet you back here in this very room afterward."

Ginny nodded, and after a quick kiss she turned and quietly left the room leaving Draco to his thoughts.

This was going to be hard, and he was going to have to say a lot of things that Ginny wouldn't like. He'd seem to have turned exactly back into the Malfoy that he was before. But it had to be done.

-----

Ginny entered the hall, ignoring the dirty looks from the Slytherins, and sat down in her usual place with Colin, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. She helped herself to some things and waited, glancing occasionally at the entrance to the hall, and over at Slytherin table. She checked her watch…only fifteen minutes left until lunch was over…only ten minutes…seven minutes.

"Weasley!" called an angry yet vaguely familiar voice. 'Weasley, I want a few words with you." Draco had entered the hall yelling furiously.

Ron looked confused at the sound of his last name and rose from his seat, but Ginny pulled on the back of his robes and dragged him down again. She stood and timidly walked over to Draco.

"What is it Draco?" she asked softly.

"What is it? What is it?" His face was contorted with a seemingly genuine malice.

"Draco what's wrong, why are you acting like this?"

"What? You attacked my father today!" Draco said, his eyes wild with fury.

"But he threatened me!"

"He's on the verge of disowning me because of you, Weasley! I can't have this! I won't have it. You are destroying my life! First, you kiss me in front of everyone in the Great Hall, making all my friends disown me, and now you won't stop until my family has too?" Draco looked at Ginny as if she were some vile and loathsome creature—it was they way he had usually looked at Harry and Hermione.

"But…I thought that didn't matter to you…" Ginny said weakly.

"What? And what did you think mattered? You? Do you honestly think I really cared about you?"

"Draco, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you were mere entertainment to me Weasley. I've played this game long enough and I'm bored to death with it. I don't want to fool around with you anymore."

"Draco, I—"

"Quiet! I don't need this! You may be a good-looking girl but you're not worth losing my reputation over! You with your silly mudblood friends. What was I thinking? It was…fun while it lasted Weasley, but I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore."

"Fun? Is that all I was to you? FUN? Was I just some little Gryffindor play-thing for you to use at your disposal? Someone to _fool around with_?"

"It was fun, babe, but not anymore," and with that, Draco turned on his heel and walked out of the Great Hall, leaving Ginny standing alone, paralyzed.

Over at Slytherin table, Pansy Parkinson's face lit up with sheer delight.

As the sound of Draco's footsteps died away, Ginny burst into tears and ran from the Great Hall.

-----

Draco wiped his face of sweat as he reached the empty room. He breathed deeply and peered out into the hallway, watching for Ginny to come and join him. He watched the hall and waited…and waited. He glanced at his watch. In a few minutes it would be time for the afternoon classes. He waited a few moments longer, and finally, she came.

"Ginny, where have you been? I thought we agreed to meet back here right afterward."

Draco reached forward to pull Ginny into a hug, but she moved out of his reach.

"Ginny…I'm sorry. I told you I would say certain things but you know I didn't mean any of it."

"Oh didn't you?" she blurted. "You should have seen yourself, Malfoy. You should have heard yourself."

"Ginny, don't call me that, please, and especially not in that tone."

"It's exactly how you addressed me."

"Now don't be silly! You know very well that I—"

"No Malfoy, I don't know anything about you. I don't know what you are really like. What you said really got me thinking. What is it that you feel about me? What's really important to you? There might just be truth behind what you said to me. Why else would you thought of saying it?"

"You know that I love you, Ginny."

"I don't know that for sure. You would rather everyone think I'm some scum you fooled around with. You'd rather they all thought you used me, all so you can have your idiot father and friends again."

"NO. That's not the reason I said all that. Ginny, I to be convincing. Otherwise I know my father would try to come after you and your family."

"Is that the truth?"

"That's the truth."

"I'm not just 'fun' then?"

"Well you _are_ fun, but not just that. Ginny, I've never felt this way about anyone. Never."

"Neither have I."

And they stood, staring at each other for a few moments before, finally, they forgot the whole ordeal and wrapped their thoughts solely around each other.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviewing time. I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter coming soon.


	15. Revenge and Reconciliation

A/N: So here I am, sitting in an art class and doing the college, but I am using my break to finally update and complete this story. Truthfully, Chapter Fourteen was meant to be the last chapter, but I decided to split it in two so that I could shorten it and deliver it to you sooner. I know the summary says there are now 16 chapters, but I assure you that it's wrong, and that this ends at Chapter Fifteen.  
Also, did I forget to mention the Ginny Weasley's first name is Ginevra, not Virginia? I felt so silly when I found this out...  
Well, It's been about a hundred years since I have updated, and I am truly sorry for it. This was probably not worth the wait, but I do sincerely hope (with all of my might), that I don't disappoint you.  
And now, without further ado--the Fifteenth and Final Chapter of Favors.  
Enjoy!

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Chapter Fifteen: Revenge and Reconciliation

As Ginny passed through the halls that week, she was followed by whispers and giggles, pity and sneers. After a few days of feeling ridiculed by the school, Ginny began avoiding the Great Hall at it's busiest moments, and then avoided it all together. It was Saturday, roughly two weeks since the "fight" between Draco and herself, and Ginny was in the common room eating the breakfast that Hermione had brought her from the Great Hall. She had, of course, told her closest friends the truth behind what had happened.

"It doesn't even seem worth it anymore," she said sulkily to Hermione and Colin. "Every time I see him I feel like crying. I never thought that it would be this bad, but everyone in the school seems to think that he used me and then threw me away."

"I've been telling you Ginny, you need to straighten things out somehow," Colin quietly replied.

"But what?" Hermione asked, more to herself than to the others. She sat staring for a bit into the common room fire, when suddenly she perked up. "I don't know why I never thought of it before, I'm so silly. Ginny, you need to get back at him."

"Why? I mean, it's not his fault, it's the rest of the school that believes I'm trash."

"No, I mean, get back at him in front of the school, make it seem like you are even. Besides, it is kind of his fault as well, he ought to have seen this coming."

"But he was trying to help me, to keep me safe from his father, you know?"

"Yes, but you proved you could handle his father. Now you have to handle the school laughing at you Ginny."

"Hermione, that's not fair! He was only trying to make sure I wasn't harmed!" Ginny shot out, a touch of anger in her voice.

"He was only looking out for himself!" Hermione snapped. "His father was about to disown him, his friends already had...Ginny, listen to me, you need to redeem yourself and let the school know you are not some weak little victim that Malfoy had his way with."

By this point Ginny's face was red with pressure and anger that she felt toward Hermione for what she was saying. But slowly, her anger subsided, and she was left with a blush of embarrassment.

"You need to get back that sense of strength and independence that I remember you having. Where did it go Ginny? It flew out the window when you met him!"

"That's not true! And I will prove it, I'll prove it to them all!"

"That's what I like to hear," said Colin with a smile.

"Alright, I'm glad you finally see it my way," Hermione said, grinning from ear to ear. "Here's what you'll have to do..."

--

Draco smiled in surprise as he saw Ginny enter the Great Hall that afternoon. He watched as she confidently strode across the hall, and sat at Gryffindor table with Colin, Hermione, Harry, and Ron. Many students looked at her with a bit of curiosity, since she had not been to meals in quite some time. She ate her lunch, smiled and joked with her friends, and ignored the stares and remarks.

Every time that he and Ginny had met in private over the past few days, Ginny had burst into tears of humiliation, but finally, Ginny was over this whole thing, he thought. Everything was falling into place. After the fight, his friends adored him again, patting him on the back for the great joke. His father was proud to hear the news from Crabbe and Goyle, and once again, he was accepted and even admired by his House.

"You really had me scared Draco! I was afraid you actually had fallen for her! But my, what a surprise..." Pansy had said. He only laughed in response.

So now during lunch, Draco watched happily, feeling that things had righted themselves for both himself and Ginny. After lunch, he would send her a note, and see her, finally smiling, as she ought to be.

As Draco stood from the table after eating his lunch, he noticed that Ginny rose as well. Most people had stopped staring at her by now, but their attention was soon caught again as she strode quite resolutely across the hall toward the Slytherin table, a goblet in hand. Ginny stood across from Draco, who was quite shocked, and she smiled as she threw the contents of the goblet into Draco's face.

"I'm not your garbage, Malfoy," was all she said, and she turned and walked away, grinning as the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables cheered and hollered "Bravo!" She left the Great Hall, escorted by her friends, all of which were laughing hysterically.

Draco, meanwhile, stood wet and sputtering, his face and hair orange with pumpkin juice. As he made to leave, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle began to follow him, but stopped at his command.

"You three sit down and stay here," He growled. "Just leave this to me." And he flung his wet hair out of face as he stomped out of the Hall after Ginny.

--

"What was that all about?" He yelled after Ginny, now running to catch up with her and her group. Ginny motioned for her friends to walk ahead. She turned to face him but said nothing.

"Ginny, you made me look like a fool!" Draco continued, his voice lower, yet still full of anger.

"Do you have any idea what you made ME look like?" she retorted.

"Hey, my father would've come after you again!"

"I'd rather have faced him again, than have the entire school laughing and pitying me like they did! While I was humiliated, you were put back on your stupid Slytherin throne. Everyone though I was some stupid girl who fell for you and just got used. After a while I wondered if they were right Draco," Ginny spat at him.

"How could you say that? You know it's not true."

"I know that, but I had to let everyone else know that too."

"You know, Ginny, I was only trying to do you a favor." Draco said quietly.

"I know. But Draco, promise me you'll never do me a favor like that again."

Draco laughed and nodded. "I guess now we are finally even," he said.

"Exactly, and nobody has to know," Ginny said.

"Know what?" Draco asked.

"That I love you," and with that Ginny pushed Draco's wet hair from his eyes and put her arms around him. Draco smiled and whispered back his reply, revealing its truth with a kiss.

------

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the ending as much as I enjoyed writing it. I leave what may happen to them in the future to your vivid and wonderful imaginations.

Thank you for your patience and for reviewing, but thanks especially for reading.

Love,

--Nancy / Squigglius--


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